Q-CTRL raises $290m Series C led by Salesforce Ventures

Q-CTRL raises $290m Series C led by Salesforce Ventures

12 November 2026: Q-CTRL says it has raised US$290 million, or A$415 million, in a Series C led by Salesforce Ventures, a round it describes as oversubscribed and expanded twice. The company, founded in 2017 by Professor Michael J. Biercuk and run from offices including Sydney, sells software that makes quantum computers and quantum sensors usable, and its best-known product is a navigation system that works without GPS.

Not yet independently verified. Q-CTRL does not disclose a valuation or a headquarters in the release, and its performance claims for Ironstone Opal are its own. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

Navigation when GPS is jammed

Ironstone Opal is the product behind much of the investor interest. Q-CTRL calls it an "unjammable, unspoofable, and undetectable" quantum navigation system for when satellite positioning is unavailable or denied, and says its software lets field sensors perform 100 times better than the best alternative. The company says it is being deployed on commercial aircraft, with Airbus, in autonomous platforms with Lockheed Martin, and on unmanned drones. Those are Q-CTRL's own claims.

On the computing side, Fire Opal runs quantum algorithms on existing hardware, Boulder Opal is aimed at hardware teams, and Black Opal teaches the subject. Customer stories on its site include Network Rail and Qubit Pharmaceuticals.

A syndicate spanning AI, chips and defence

New investors are Affinity Partners, AMD Ventures, EDGE Group, MPower Partners, Australia's National Reconstruction Fund Corporation and SPARX Asset Management. Returning backers include DCVC, In-Q-Tel, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Main Sequence, Square Peg, Alpha Edison, Alumni Ventures, Ridgeline, Salus Ventures and Bullhound Capital, which the company names alongside Affinity Partners as a significant participant. EDGE is the United Arab Emirates defence group, and In-Q-Tel invests for the US intelligence community.

"The investor syndicate we've assembled showcases the strength of our technology, revenue growth, and strategic alignment with some of the most important sectors today, from AI to aviation," said Biercuk, chief executive and founder. Robert Keith, partner at Salesforce Ventures, put the investment case in one line: "The hard problem in quantum is not building the machine, it is getting useful output from it."

Where the money goes

Q-CTRL says it will double down on its software-first approach, scale globally across finance and energy customers, deliver autonomy and aerospace programmes, and expand deployment of its navigation systems. It has offices in Sydney, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Huntsville, Berlin and Oxford. It does not state a valuation, though the release calls it a quantum unicorn, or give revenue figures.

Quantum in our catalogue

We do not yet have a quantum software category, so Q-CTRL's nearest neighbours in our listings sit in artificial intelligence companies, with 1,113 firms, and among the navigation and autonomy suppliers in robot manufacturers. A company selling software across both quantum computing and sensing is unusual enough that comparisons are thin.

Company profile on TrustList: Q-CTRL

Related on TrustList:

• Path Robotics raises $300m Series E to take its welding AI further

Sources

• Q-CTRL: Q-CTRL secures US$290 million Series C funding led by Salesforce Ventures, 12 November 2026