From DeteQtReviewed by Lexie CornerMar 26 2025
To speed up the development of its diamond-on-chip technology, DeteQt, a quantum sensing company spun out of the University of Sydney, has obtained pre-seed funding from leading deep-tech venture capitalists.
(L-R) Deteqt CEO Jim Rabeau, COO Rupal Ismin, CTO Omid Kavehei, Quantum physicist Adam Stewart, hardware Engineer David Katzmarek. Image Credit: DeteQt
Following a $3.3 million deal with Defense last year, the company raised $750,000 from Main Sequence Ventures and the US-based ATP Fund as a starting point for further funding.
Jim Rabeau, co-founder and CEO of DeteQt, said the company intends to use the funds to nearly double its size and advance a new prototype ahead of another funding round next year.
It is ultimately to position us for a much bigger raise next year, where we’re going to be going from prototype to bigger scale.
Jim Rabeau, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, DeteQt
Established in 2023 by Dr. Rabeau and Professor Omid Kavehei, DeteQt is creating quantum magnetometers for practical uses such as medical imaging, navigation, and the detection of essential minerals.
It combines nitrogen-vacancy diamond technology (similar to Quantum Brilliance) and traditional silicon chip fabrication (via Global Foundries) to produce a low-cost, scalable, and manufacturable solution.
Dr. Rabeau, a former CSIRO Director of Quantum Technology and President of Infleqtion's Australian division, said that the Defence Innovation Network grant award was the result of this “unique value proposition.”
Dr. Rabeu added, “It was really bringing those two things together that positioned us to get the funding from the Defence Innovation Network and then to do something really pretty unique in having a silicon chip with a diamond sensor.”
The technology, which was developed by DeteQt with the initial Defence Innovation Network award, was based on work done at the Nano Institute and has been licensed by the University of Sydney.
“Now we have a control and measurement chip and we have our diamond quantum chip, and we basically put them together,” Dr. Rabeau said, referring to the technique developed with Professor Kavehei, the company’s Chief Scientific Officer.
He added, “It is like a sandwich without anything in the middle. It is like two pieces of bread coming together, and they talk to each other.”
DeteQt intends to have a prototype ready for demonstration by the end of the year, enabling it to access markets beyond navigation.
Additionally, it intends to establish an entity in the US, which Dr. Rabeau stated was done to provide a “springboard for us to consolidate all the tech and the customer conversations.”
“We have this technology which is very close to application-ready, and the wave of possibilities of actually deploying this to industries that are actually ready for the kind of tech that we are bringing,” the Adjunct Professor added.
“I think this wave of quantum sensing and near term applications, compared to quantum computing, is quite exciting, and we are in a really, really good place to do that,” he stated.
Dr. Rabeau stated that the company was less dependent on additional venture capital funding because of its “strong” contract with the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator.
He concluded, “That is pretty unique for a small startup like ours, and so [with that investment] we are kind of going really hard to deliver what we said we’re going to do, get in front of customers and more investors, and really ramp up our next generation development and production.”