Archer presents at the World Economic Forum in the US

Archer Materials’ June newsletter covers Archer at the World Economic Forum’s Global Technology Retreat, the fabrication of the company’s Biochip gFET on a six-inch wafer, a graphene-based chip manufacturer receiving US$274 million in funding, and IBM’s goal to build a 10,000-qubit quantum computer with the Japanese Government.

Archer raises its global exposure at the WEF Global Technology Retreat 2024
Archer Materials is partnered with the World Economic Forum through the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and is a member of the WEF Global Quantum Economy network. Archer was the first Australian industry representative to partner with the C4IR.

On behalf of Archer, I attended the World Economic Forum’s C4IR flagship event, the Global Technology Retreat from 28 to 30 May 2024 in San Francisco. The event brought together more than 230 leaders from 40 countries and focused on technology convergence – the emergence of AI as a new technology paradigm and how it will evolve and embed within existing and future technology ecosystems, like quantum and biotechnology.

Much of the discussion, networking, and outcomes revolved around artificial intelligence. This included the C4IR and the WEF’s Centre for Energy and Materials launching the AI Transformation of Industries Initiative to manage the energy demand of AI and leverage AI for accelerating the energy transition.

While the hot topic was AI, participants also explored how AI and quantum technologies, including in computing, will intersect over the coming years. I was also able to introduce Archer and its 12CQ quantum chip and Biochip technologies to leading global organisations, including those developing AI and large language models.

I also was a speaker at the WEF’s Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains Strategy Meeting 2024. I spoke to the advantages and significance of semiconductor companies and how Australia is supporting high tech industries like Archer in the development of quantum and semiconductors.

At the moment, AI and quantum are out of phase, but it was agreed by participants that their convergence could have a revolutionary impact on all industries.

Archer fabricated Biochip gFET on a six-inch wafer through Graphenea
Archer fabricated one of its Biochip graphene field effect transistor (gFET) designs using a six-inch whole wafer run through its foundry partner in Spain, Graphenea. This is the first time Archer has conducted a six-inch wafer run and it created 145 chips with eight gFET devices on each chip.

In Dec 2023, Archer had sent the Biochip gFET design to Graphenea to be produced. The gFETs have structures that can handle liquid multiplexing, with improvements in chip design features, such as gating design and materials, to solve technological problems in keeping graphene device stability from chip-to-chip. Archer verified that the gFETs worked as expected, advancing its technology development.

German graphene-based chip manufacturer receives US$274 million in funding
German start-up, Black Semiconductor, has secured US$274 million in funding, mostly from the German government, to help it build a production facility and hire more staff for the development of its graphene-based chip technology. Black Semiconductor is developing graphene-based chips to deliver faster data processing, improved energy efficiency, and faster network communication.

The investment shows that participants in the European semiconductor supply chain are wanting to compete with chip manufacturers across North America and Asia. The continued investment in the semiconductor sector from governments around the world also highlights the need for the technology to help shore up supply chains and foster economic development.

IBM to partner with Japan's National Science Institute to build a quantum computer
IBM is reportedly to partner with Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) with the ambition to create a quantum computer with 10,000 qubits by 2029. If successful, this will surpass current quantum computers which have a few hundred qubits. The partnership is to involve the development of superconducting integrated circuits. This 10,000-qubit quantum computer would function in extremely cold temperatures and could open the potential for applications in quantum machine learning much sooner than what was previously expected.

Sincerely,

Dr Mohammad Choucair, FRACI FRSN GAICD
Chief Executive Officer
Archer Materials Limited (ASX: AXE)

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