Breakthrough Victoria’s first portfolio company just rang the opening bell on Wall Street. The story behind the listing reveals how targeted deep-tech investment can move markets.
What’s happening: Infleqtion Inc, a quantum technology company backed by Victoria’s government investment vehicle Breakthrough Victoria, listed on the New York Stock Exchange on 17 February 2026, becoming the first publicly listed neutral-atom quantum technology company in the world.
Why this matters: The listing marks the first time a Breakthrough Victoria portfolio company has gone public, validating a long-term strategy of backing deep-tech infrastructure over near-term consumer plays.
When Infleqtion rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on 18 February 2026, it marked more than a corporate milestone. The quantum technology company, backed in part by Victorian government investment vehicle Breakthrough Victoria, became the first of BV’s 87 portfolio companies to list publicly, and the first neutral-atom quantum company anywhere in the world to do so.
The listing followed the completion of Infleqtion’s business combination with Churchill Capital Corp X, a special purpose acquisition company, raising more than $550 million to expand its neutral-atom quantum computing operations.
Breakthrough Victoria CEO Rod Bristow said the listing reflected the strength of Victoria’s position in the global quantum race. “Infleqtion’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange marks a milestone not only for the company, but for Victoria’s emerging quantum industry. As Breakthrough Victoria’s first portfolio company to go public, Infleqtion demonstrates how world-class research, backed by strategic investment and global ambition, can be transformed into a billion-dollar enterprise. Their growth reinforces the critical role Victoria will play in shaping the future of quantum technology, talent and commercialisation.”
What Infleqtion actually does
Founded as ColdQuanta and spun out of the University of Colorado in 2007, Infleqtion designs and builds quantum computers, precision sensors, and quantum software for governments, enterprises, and research institutions. Its product portfolio spans quantum optical clocks, RF receivers, and inertial sensors, all built around a neutral-atom platform the company describes as scalable and cost-efficient. Its systems are already in use by NASA, the U.K. government, and in multiple collaborations with NVIDIA.
Among its flagship products is Tiqker, a next-generation optical atomic clock for Position, Navigation and Timing applications. The company has also announced a collaboration with NASA, supported by more than $20 million in contracted mission funding, to fly the world’s first quantum gravity sensor to space, and secured a $2 million contract from the U.S. Army to strengthen resilient navigation and timing capability in adversarial environments.
Infleqtion CEO Matthew Kinsella described the public listing as a platform for accelerating the company’s global ambitions. “Today marks an important milestone in our company’s growth and evolution. Going public provides a broader platform to pursue our long-term mission in quantum technology. We intend to use the capital and access to public markets to accelerate our compute and product roadmaps on a global scale. We continue to support the development of sovereign quantum capabilities in Australia while competing internationally, with the goal of contributing to the next generation of advanced quantum technologies.”
Building the ecosystem at home
While Infleqtion’s NYSE listing is a global story, its footprint in Victoria is deepening. The company operates out of Melbourne Connect and CoLabs in Notting Hill, and is partnering with Swinburne University, the University of Melbourne, RMIT, and CSIRO to develop next-generation quantum sensing platforms.
Infleqtion is also a key industry partner in two Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Training Centres, one led by the University of Sydney focused on future leaders in quantum computing, and another led by the University of Adelaide with RMIT as a partner, focused on current and emergent quantum technologies. Both programs provide PhD and postdoctoral researchers with hands-on experience using Infleqtion’s commercial devices, building a pipeline of industrially trained quantum talent in Victoria.
Alongside Infleqtion, Breakthrough Victoria has also backed Quantum Brilliance, an Australian company developing room-temperature, diamond-based quantum computing systems. Together, the investments are designed to anchor critical capability in Victoria and attract international collaboration. As Dynamic Business has previously reported, Australian quantum startups are increasingly attracting both government and private capital, with companies like Q-CTRL, PsiQuantum, and DeteQt all securing significant backing in the past 18 months.
The bigger quantum picture
Breakthrough Victoria’s quantum strategy sits within a broader national ambition. BV’s targeted investments are aimed at helping Australia build an industry the organisation projects could be worth $6 billion and employ nearly 20,000 people by 2045.
With 87 investment commitments totalling more than $487.1 million, Breakthrough Victoria is one of Australia’s most active early-stage technology investors. A recent independent report by EY Parthenon found BV’s portfolio is on track to generate $5.3 billion in economic impact for Victoria by 2035. The same report found that 88% of early-stage investment in Victoria in 2024 came from BV-backed investors, and that 76% of all venture-stage investment in Victoria in 2024 involved Breakthrough Victoria.
Victorian Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs Danny Pearson said the listing reflects the state’s broader ambitions. “We’re proud to be creating highly skilled jobs and driving economic growth in Victoria. This is exciting news for Victoria’s thriving quantum technology sector, accelerating our position as a global leader.”
For Australian businesses watching the deep-tech investment landscape, Infleqtion’s debut on the NYSE offers a concrete example of what patient, strategic investment in frontier technology can produce. As Dynamic Business has noted in its coverage of Australia’s startup funding trends, investor appetite for deep-tech sectors including quantum is growing, with international investors increasingly taking notice of Australian capabilities.
Source: breakthroughvictoria.com
Figures from CSIRO’s The Growing Australia’s Quantum Technology Industry report
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