Fleet

What Fleet does

FLEET (the ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies) is an Australian government-funded research centre established on 8 September 2016 with an AUD $33.4 million grant from the Australian Research Council, led by Monash University and operating across seven Australian university nodes (Monash, UNSW, ANU, RMIT, Swinburne, University of Queensland, University of Wollongong), with international collaborators including Caltech, Columbia, Tsinghua, NUS, and University of Texas. The organisation researches ultra-low-energy electronics alternatives to silicon-based CMOS, targeting the ICT sector's 5–8% share of global electricity consumption that doubles each decade. Core technical work spans room-temperature switchable topological materials, the NC-TQFET transistor architecture (over 10x energy efficiency improvement and 2x switching speed), liquid-metal synthesis of 2D materials, exciton-polariton Bose-Einstein condensates, and ultrathin gallium-oxide glass encapsulation of 2D semiconductors. The Centre is a nonprofit research entity that produces no commercial products or services and charges nothing for its educational and outreach outputs; its "revenue" is grant funding from the Australian Research Council, university partners, and supporting government bodies such as NSW Department of Industry, with all research and educational materials distributed free of charge via the FLEET Schools platform and the national Scootle learning repository.

Over its seven-year operating window, FLEET trained 117 HDR students, 111 postdoctoral researchers, and over 240 quantum-skilled PhD and postdoctoral graduates, produced more than 679 publications and 10 patent applications, and reached 76,328 members of the public through outreach events. Its research outcomes were recognised through inclusion in the IEEE International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (Beyond CMOS chapter) in 2022 and translated into two spin-off companies: Liquid Metal Plus (LM+) launched in April 2021 to commercialise liquid-metal deposition and synthesis, and TQ Transistors established in March 2024 to commercialise the NC-TQFET transistor technology. The Centre's customer-facing activity is concentrated on K–12 schools (John Monash Science School, Ashburton Primary, Hughesdale Primary), the general public via science festivals and home science experiments, and academic and industry partners through Meet FLEET events, hackathons, and the AUD $500,000 FLEET Translation Program. FLEET concluded its Centre of Excellence operations with a Legacy Workshop in November 2023 and transitioned to a legacy/archive website in 2024, with its IP and talent pipelines continuing through the spin-off entities and partner universities.

Name

Fleet

Legal name

ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies

Website

https://fleet.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

FLEET is an Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence, led by Monash University across seven Australian university nodes, that researches ultra-low-energy electronics technologies — including topological transistors, exciton superfluids, and 2D semiconductors — and delivers free STEM outreach to schools and the public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Clayton

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. ARC Centre of Excellence Funding: Primary funding from Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence grant ($33.4 million awarded to Monash University for establishment)

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fleet is a non-profit ARC Centre of Excellence that develops ultra-low-energy electronics technologies through research in topological materials, exciton superfluids, and atomically-thin two-dimensional semiconductors. It produces STEM educational resources (FLEET Schools curriculum materials, Home Science Experiments) and conducts research translation via Meet FLEET industry events, hackathons, and the Translation Program, with commercialisation through two spin-off companies.

Product overview

FLEET (Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies) is a research center (ARC Centre of Excellence) developing ultra-low-energy electronic technologies. The organization offers educational resources through FLEET Schools including curriculum-linked teacher resources (Forces and Energy, Conductors/Insulators/Electricity, Light/Reflection/Refraction/Diffraction, Quantum Circuits Workshop) available via Scootle, over 80 Home Science Experiments for community outreach, and DIY Science-Comms Resources for researchers. Core research technologies include the NC-TQFET topological transistor and Liquid Metal Technologies. Two spin-off companies commercialize FLEET research: TQ Transistors (NC-TQFET transistor) and Liquid Metal Plus LM+ (liquid-metal material technologies).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FLEET Schools Educational Resources A free online platform of curriculum-linked STEM teaching resources for primary and secondary teachers, covering forces and energy, conductors and insulators, light (reflection, refraction, diffraction), and quantum circuits workshops. Resources map to the Victorian and Australian Curriculum (Years 4-9) and are distributed via the FLEET website and the national Scootle repository.
• Home Science Experiments A collection of over 80 free, easy home science experiments using everyday items, with instructions written for non-scientific audiences covering physics concepts including forces, motion, electricity, light, optics, and chemistry.
• DIY Science Communications Resources Tools and instructions for scientists to develop and distribute stories about their research, including framing prompts, writing templates, and distribution guides for technical audiences.
• FLEET Translation Program A research translation initiative backed by $500,000 in internal investment to identify FLEET researchers with commercialisation potential and provide commercialisation-skills training, funding projects such as TMD sample manufacturing, high-efficiency Zn battery tech, STM automation, and thermoelectrics.

Quantifiable outcome

• Topological transistor could reduce switching energy by factor of four
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Monash UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead institution and headquarters of FLEET Centre of Excellence, hosting multiple research nodes and the Centre's leadership
• University of New South Wales (UNSW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch node partner, hosting investigators including Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh and Dorna Esrafilzadeh for liquid-metal research
• Australian National University (ANU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch node partner, led by Prof Elena Ostrovskaya, focused on exciton-polariton condensate research and quantum physics
• RMIT UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch node partner, home to liquid-metal technologies research including Dr Torben Daeneke
• Swinburne University of TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch node partner, hosting quantum-gas microscope facility for ultra-cold atomic gas studies
• University of QueenslandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch node partner, led by David Colas on negative mass studies and UQ team on superfluids research
• University of WollongongcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch node partner, leading topological Dirac semimetal research and record-efficiency thermoelectric materials
• ANSTO (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation)supportingTechnology or IntegrationPartner providing nuclear techniques for materials research including nanoscale conducting channel engineering
• Australian SynchrotronsupportingTechnology or IntegrationPartner facility used for advanced materials characterisation and analysis
• John Monash Science SchoolsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school delivering Year 10 Future Electronics unit developed by FLEET, covering semiconductors, Moore's Law, and quantum science introduction
• Women and Leadership AustraliasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner providing leadership training programs (Leading Edge and Impact) for early-career women in FLEET; 23 women funded for WLA training
• TQ TransistorscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerSpin-off company established in 2024 to commercialise NC-TQFET technology achieving over 10x energy efficiency and 2x switching speed improvement
• Liquid Metal Plus (LM+)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerSpin-off company launched April 2021 by FLEET investigators for liquid-metal technologies including flexible touchscreens and CO2 conversion
• CaltechsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaborator on topological materials and quantum physics
• Columbia UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaborator
• Tsinghua UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaborator
• National University of SingaporesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaborator on 2D materials
• University of TexassupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaborator
• APR.InternsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for FLEET internship program funding placements of research students with industry partners

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Purdue University - Birck Nanotechnology Center: Purdue's Birck Nanotechnology Center pursues nanoelectronic device research including topological and 2D-material transistors. It is an emerging academic peer with a complementary research portfolio to FLEET's beyond-CMOS device agenda.

Direct peers

• CEA-Leti: CEA-Leti is a French R&D institute focused on micro/nanoelectronics, including advanced transistor architectures and 2D-material integration. Like FLEET, it sits between academic physics research and industrial semiconductor adoption, making it directly comparable.
• IMEC: IMEC is a Belgium-headquartered semiconductor research centre advancing beyond-CMOS device physics, 2D materials, and low-power transistors. It is the closest direct peer to FLEET's mandate of translating novel physics into manufacturable, ultra-low-energy electronic devices.

Broad incumbents

• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): NIST runs extensive quantum, condensed-matter, and nanoscale measurement programmes, including standards work relevant to novel electronic devices. Comparable to FLEET through its mandate to advance measurement and device physics underpinning ultra-low-energy electronics.
• IBM Research: IBM Research operates at scale across semiconductor, quantum, and computing platforms including low-power transistor research and has historically demonstrated topological and 2D-material devices. Comparable to FLEET through its beyond-CMOS research scope, though it spans a far wider technology portfolio.
• Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS): Fraunhofer IPMS conducts applied research on micro/nanoelectronic and photonic devices including low-power electronics. Comparable to FLEET as a publicly funded applied research institute translating novel physics into device-level demonstrators.
• Intel Foundry / Intel Components Research: Intel's Components Research organisation actively pursues beyond-CMOS, 2D-material, and ferroelectric transistor research for advanced logic nodes. It is a broad incumbent comparable to FLEET in research scope but with vastly greater capital and integration capabilities.
• TSMC Research: TSMC's research arm explores novel materials, 2D semiconductors, and low-power device options for future logic technology nodes. It is a broad incumbent focused on post-silicon transistor options, paralleling FLEET's NC-TQFET direction.

Regional players

• ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS): TMOS is a contemporaneous ARC Centre of Excellence based in Australia focused on meta-optics, with a comparable multi-university node structure and ARC funding profile. Comparable to FLEET as an Australian peer ARC Centre of Excellence advancing transformative physics-based devices.
• ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQuS): EQuS is a predecessor/successor ARC Centre of Excellence in Australia focused on engineered quantum systems. It is a regional peer with overlapping research themes (quantum materials, condensed-matter physics) and a similar multi-node ARC Centre of Excellence structure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC-xN4nhFzjKTp0oBE3FpYdA
• Xx.com/FLEETCentre
• Facebookfacebook.com/FLEETCentre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Fleet