A quantum computing startup from Australia will join the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park at the former U.S. Steel South Works site, in a deal announced Monday.
Sydney-based Diraq signed a letter of intent to join the state’s quantum campus, which is expected to break ground this year. Diraq will join On-Ramp, the IQMP’s program for companies who will become residents of the campus. Members of the program will work out of a shared facility, as the campus is built out.
The company said it expects to begin operating out of the On-Ramp facility in late 2025, or early 2026.
Diraq said its mission is to design, build and deploy the world’s most cost-effective quantum computers. It will join the park’s anchor tenant PsiQuantum, who’s investing billions to build the nation’s first commercially-useful quantum computer.
Diraq was recently one of 16 companies awarded a contract for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s program for testing quantum computing prototypes. And in March, the company and Fermilab were awarded the Quandarum project by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. The project aims to create an ultra-precise quantum sensor to explore and research dark matter, according to Diraq.
Diraq recently set up operations in Silicon Valley in California and Boston, Diraq CEO and founder Andrew Dzurakand said.
“The IQMP represents an exciting opportunity that can support our U.S. growth strategy,” Dzurakand said in a news release.
The company said its Chicago headcount is still being determined, but the company will add two to four employees in its first year. Chicago will be a focus point for Diraq’s research and development, the company said.
It declined to disclose an estimate of its potential investment at the park, citing the early phase of development and confidentiality.
The company said in a statement: “Diraq is quietly confident regarding the future growth strategy supporting the company’s mission to deliver commercially viable, cost-effective quantum computers. Over the coming months, Diraq expects this promising growth trajectory to include investment in jobs, alliances and partnerships with key stakeholders.”
Harley Johnson, executive director and CEO of IQMP, said leadership has been “encouraged by the incredible interest” from companies around the globe, who want to establish a presence at the quantum campus. It was announced in December 2024 that IBM will partner with the state to create a new national quantum algorithm center in Chicago, marking it the first Fortune 500 company to join the park.
The quantum campus was announced by Gov. JB Pritzker, alongside other state and local leaders, in July 2024.
The 128-acre campus will transform a large swath of the former U.S. Steel South Works facility, which has sat vacant since its closure in 1992. There’s been several attempts to redevelop the long-troubled site — ranging from thousands of homes to a new Solo Cup Co. factory — but none have stuck. Lingering environmental concerns have been a barrier to development at the site and continue to make residents wary of the quantum campus.
The site is estimated to have a $20 billion economic impact over the next decade, and it’s expected to create thousands of jobs in quantum computing and related fields. But it’s been met with concern from some community members and neighborhood groups, who are calling for a community benefits agreement to ensure local residents get jobs with living wages and aren’t displaced by the new development.
