DeteQt

What DeteQt does

DeteQt is a Sydney-based deep tech spinout from the University of Sydney's Nano Institute, founded in 2024 by Professors Jim Rabeau and Omid Kavehei. The company develops patented diamond-on-silicon chips that serve as the core platform for field-deployable quantum magnetometers, leveraging nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centre defects in synthetic diamond engineered onto silicon substrates. This architecture is intended to overcome the form factor, cost, and manufacturability constraints of bulk diamond quantum sensors, enabling quantum sensing at a scale and cost point compatible with real-world deployment.

The company's products target four primary use cases: defence and security applications (GPS-denied navigation, magnetic anomaly detection, unexploded ordnance detection); mineral exploration and geological survey; medical imaging; and precision navigation for autonomous systems and aerospace. Defence & Security is identified as the primary customer segment, with the remaining verticals positioned as secondary markets. Go-to-market is primarily direct enterprise and government field sales, supplemented by potential OEM/embedded partnerships for integration into third-party systems and an explicit option to license the underlying IP.

DeteQt operates on a hardware sales revenue model supplemented by the option to monetise its patented diamond-on-silicon chip IP through licensing. The company has raised approximately $5.75 million in total funding across a 2023/early-2025 pre-Seed round and a 2025-2026 Seed round led by Main Sequence Ventures, with participation from ATP Fund, BOKA Capital, Beaten Zone Venture Partners, Uniseed, and the University of Sydney. As of the available data, DeteQt has 1-10 employees, no disclosed revenue, and is in the product development and team-scale-up phase funded by the Seed round.

Name

DeteQt

Legal name

DeteQt

Website

https://deteqt.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DeteQt is a University of Sydney deep tech spinout that builds patented diamond-on-silicon chips for field-deployable quantum magnetometers, serving defence, mineral exploration, medical imaging, and precision navigation markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Quantum Sensors

NAICS

Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451), Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals (334515), Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing (33441)

SIC

Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825)

akta.pro primary industry

NV Center & Color-Center Diamond QPU Systems (HDAGAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Foundry Platform & Design Enablement Services (PDK/DFM/Process Qualification) (HDAHACAJ)

Keywords

• Quantum magnetometry
• Diamond-on-silicon chips
• Quantum sensing
• Navigation sensors
• Mineral exploration

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Quantum Magnetometer Hardware Sales: Sale of field-ready quantum magnetometer products based on proprietary diamond-on-silicon chips. Revenue from hardware product delivery to defence, industrial, and research customers.
2. Quantum Sensing IP / Technology Licensing: Potential licensing of patented diamond-on-silicon chip technology and quantum sensing know-how to partners, research institutions, or industry players in navigation, medical imaging, and mineral exploration sectors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

DeteQt develops and manufactures patented diamond-on-silicon chips that form the core of field-ready quantum magnetometers. The chips leverage nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centre defects in synthetic diamond, integrated onto silicon substrates, enabling miniaturized, high-sensitivity magnetic-field sensing for navigation, mineral exploration, medical imaging, and defence detection.

Product overview

DeteQt offers a single core product line centered on patented diamond-on-silicon quantum sensor chips. These chips form the foundational technology for field-ready quantum magnetometers designed for navigation, mineral exploration, medical imaging, and defence detection applications. The company, founded in 2024 as a University of Sydney deep tech spinout, is scaling diamond chip manufacturing to meet field deployment requirements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Diamond-on-Silicon Quantum Sensor Chips Patented diamond-on-silicon chips engineered with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centre quantum defects for use in field-ready quantum magnetometers. Sold to defence, industrial, mining, medical imaging, and research customers requiring high-sensitivity magnetic field sensing.
• Field-Ready Quantum Magnetometers Quantum magnetometer products built on DeteQt's diamond-on-silicon chip platform, designed for deployment in field environments where conventional GPS-dependent or bulk-diamond sensors are unsuitable. Targets defence threat detection, perimeter security, mineral exploration, and GPS-denied navigation.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Element Six (De Beers Group): Leading synthetic diamond producer supplying engineered diamond material including NV-diamond substrates; an upstream supplier/enabler for the NV quantum sensing value chain.
• Rogue Valley Microdevices: US MEMS/specialty semiconductor foundry with diamond-on-silicon process capabilities; an enabling manufacturing peer relevant to DeteQt's chip fabrication pathway.

Direct peers

• Cerca Magnetics: University College London spinout commercialising OPM (optically pumped magnetometer) and NV-diamond MEG systems for brain imaging; competing modality in DeteQt's medical imaging vertical.
• Qnami: Swiss startup building NV-centre quantum diamond microscopes and sensors for nanoscale imaging; directly comparable in underlying technology and target use cases.
• QZabre: Swiss NV-diamond quantum sensor company producing scanning NV magnetometers for materials and biomedical imaging; competes in the same core NV-magnetometry modality.
• QDTI (Quantum Diamond Technologies): Develops NV-diamond quantum sensors and magnetometers for navigation and biomedical applications; most direct technology peer to DeteQt's NV-centre-on-silicon platform.

Emerging players

• Q-CTRL: Australian quantum technology company offering quantum sensing and control software; geographically co-located peer that also serves defence navigation customers.
• SBQuantum: Diamond-NV quantum magnetometer developer focused on geomagnetic navigation and mineral exploration — directly overlapping DeteQt's mining/navigation segments.

Broad incumbents

• Northrop Grumman: Defence prime with active programmes in quantum sensing and atomic magnetometry for navigation; broad incumbent competing for the same defence procurement dollars.
• Lockheed Martin: Large defence prime investing in quantum sensing and GPS-denied navigation programmes; potential customer or acquirer overlapping DeteQt's defence use case.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DeteQt