Diraq progresses to new stage in DARPA drive for practical quantum computers

by Simon Mansfield
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Nov 12, 2025

Diraq announced it has advanced to Stage B of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. This program aims to assess whether any quantum computing platform can reach utility-scale operation by 2033.

After completing Stage A, Diraq continues its work to develop a utility-scale quantum computer that offers greater economic value than its construction and running costs. Diraq's system encodes quantum information in electrons within silicon, using modified transistors common to current computers. This approach is designed to allow large-scale integration, potentially supporting millions of qubits on a single chip.

During Stage A, Diraq's design underwent review by DARPA's scientific team, confirming its feasibility for meeting the 2033 target. Of 17 Stage A participants, only those passing review - including Diraq - move forward. In Stage B, participants will refine their designs and detail research and development plans over the coming year.

"Quantum computing becomes transformative when it addresses real-world challenges and generates genuine commercial returns," said Andrew Dzurak, Diraq's CEO and Founder. "DARPA's QBI program, which focuses on achieving utility-scale quantum computing, is aligned with Diraq's vision: deploying systems that are not only technically feasible and scalable, but which also deliver far greater value than they cost to build and operate - ensuring that quantum computing provides meaningful real-world value to customers without prohibitive costs."

Diraq leads a consortium with industry and academic partners from Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Partners moving to Stage B include Riverlane, Emergence Quantum, Iceberg Quantum and the Centre for Quantum Software and Information at the University of Technology Sydney. New consortium members in Stage B are Quantum Machines and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Diraq's ongoing collaboration with Dell Technologies supports work on quantum computers for integration with current compute infrastructure and hybrid quantum-classical systems. Diraq also partners with Global Foundries in the US and imec in Europe for semiconductor manufacturing and packaging.

Recently, Diraq published two technical achievements in Nature, covering the integration of cryogenic electronics with qubits and foundry-fabricated silicon spin qubits exceeding 99 percent fidelity in all quantum operations.