“It’s almost a pinch me moment, well beyond anything I could have imagined,” says Dr Vikram Sharma, winner of the 2025 Prime Minister’s Science Prize for Innovation.
The founder and CEO of Quintessence Labs, Dr Vikram Sharma’s award-winning work involves ‘translating’ quantum computer science research into cybersecurity solutions to protect sensitive data across a broad range of industries.
“What we do is develop a suite of technology and solutions that help organisations, people, and society at large remain secure in the face of a quantum-enabled adversary.”
By applying the principles of quantum mechanics to computer science, quantum computing allows us to solve complex problems in ways never done by traditional computing.
“Quantum computers at scale will have the ability to break much of the encryption used to securely protect information on our digital infrastructure, whether it’s banking, your health records, or anything you might be doing with the government,” Dr Sharma explains.
Putting Australia at the forefront of quantum cybersecurity
As a child, Dr Vikram Sharma’s family moved from country to country, before settling in Canberra when his father was posted as High Commissioner to India from 1980 to 1982.
“The encouragement of my parents to fuel that curiosity perhaps led to ultimately where my career has taken me today,” he reflects.
Dr Sharma’s journey into quantum computing began right at the emergence of this technology, when he was completing his Masters degrees as part of the Stanford University Sloan program.
“Being a bit of a crackpot entrepreneur, I wanted to do a start-up, but it was too early at that time. Much to my surprise, while I was sitting in Silicon Valley, back at my doorstep at the Australian National University in Canberra, they were about to embark in some cutting-edge research at the intersection of quantum and cybersecurity,” he recalls.
“Long story short, I joined that group. It was an incredible group of people. We had some world-first [scientific breakthroughs], and then from that wound up founding Quintessence Labs in 2008.”
At Quintessence Labs, the focus is on bringing quantum computing research beyond the theoretical level and into the real world, something which has taken over a decade to perfect.
“To actually build that [research] into products solving real world problems is quite a process of translation…you’re making it repeatable, manufacturable, because what you have in the lab, clearly you can’t deploy into a data centre in an organisation,” Dr Vikram says.
“That whole process, especially for deep science, is a multi-year journey. So, we’ve been in existence 15 odd years now as a company – about half of that was just this translation and innovation process.”
Dr Sharma’s technology has ensured Australia remain a world leader in quantum cybersecurity, with Quintessence Labs’ technology utilised in over 20 countries across the globe.
“We [Australia] punch well above our weight in terms of the quantum sector, if you measure it in terms of patents, number of publications, even funding received by quantum startups. That long-term investment that the government’s made is really delivering results,” he says.
“[The Prime Minister’s Science Prize] is a recognition for our entire team at Quintessence Labs, and more broadly, the researchers, the policy makers, and the entrepreneurs in the quantum sector in Australia, whose enduring dedication has positioned Australia as a leader in this very important technology.”
Building trust in our digital systems
As the world becomes more reliant on technology, quantum cybersecurity is becoming an ever-pressing national security necessity.
“We’re already seeing that in a number of conflicts that are playing out around the world, cyber operations play a really important part,” Dr Sharma says.
“So much of our daily lives are governed by digital infrastructure, which underlies many of the things we take for granted, whether it’s transport systems or electricity grids… those need to be very well protected, because a big risk in the event of conflict is that these systems could be compromised and affect our societies in very material ways.”
But rather than raising alarm, Dr Sharma says quantum cybersecurity offers a unique opportunity to not only safeguard our data but build trust in our digital infrastructure.
“The good news there is that while the risk is there, if we move in a timely manner and a planned fashion, we already have the technologies to mitigate against these risks,” he says.
“At the core of what [Quintessence Labs] do is ensuring that society at large continues to have trust in the digital systems, platforms and infrastructure that underwrite the correct functioning of our society today and into the future.”
He believes access to high quality STEM education is vital for the next generation’s stability in our technologically driven world, with Australia poised to deliver 1.2 million tech workers by 2030.
“Geopolitical and economic advantage will accrue to those groups, those countries that can harness some of these technologies that are going to define our next decades – quantum certainly is one of those technologies,” Dr Sharma says.
“The only way you can achieve that is by having brilliant minds that can drive innovation in these sectors…teaching children right from the school level basic skills around critical thinking and analysis from the STEM disciplines is critical.”
Regardless of whether our population is STEM conversant, Dr Vikram Sharma says quantum cybersecurity will grow to be a regular part of our lives.
“You actually don’t need to know the nuts and bolts of how it works; not that many people actually know how a combustion engine or electric motor works, but can use a car very successfully,” he says.
“I think perhaps we’ll be in a similar position with quantum technologies where they become part and parcel of what we do every day.”
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