Quantum opportunity progresses to design phase | New Zealand Institute for Advanced Technology

NZIAT’s quantum technologies discovery phase has now concluded, with the NZIAT Board approving progression to the design phase of NZIAT’s investment process.

Progression to the design phase is not an investment decision or a commitment of investment funding. The design work will inform a future decision on whether an NZIAT investment is warranted.

Over the past eight months, NZIAT has undertaken a comprehensive discovery process to assess New Zealand’s quantum opportunity. This work engaged more than 150 people, including experts from all relevant New Zealand universities and research organisations. NZIAT also convened an international expert advisory panel with representatives from the United Kingdom and United States.

The discovery process identified areas of potential opportunity for New Zealand, supported by strong and internationally connected research capabilities, emerging commercial opportunities, talented people in demand globally, and complementary strengths in enabling technologies. Translating these strengths into economic impact will require stronger coordination, scale and commercialisation pathways. NZIAT was established to address these types of opportunities.

The opportunity identified for market testing

New Zealand cannot compete across the full breadth of quantum technologies. Through the discovery process, NZIAT has identified a focused domain for market testing during the design phase: quantum and photonic sensing, hardware and future computing for resilience and security.

This domain brings together three opportunity areas:

Using sensing to improve monitoring of infrastructure, transport, energy systems, maritime and space assets, and natural hazards.
Developing specialised components and enabling technologies for global quantum computing, communication and networking supply chains, leveraging photonics, cryogenics, superconducting devices and advanced materials.
Developing future computing capabilities, including software, algorithms and resource-efficient approaches.

These opportunities connect New Zealand’s research strengths to global demand. They also align with our interests in resilience, trusted supply chains, critical infrastructure, export growth, and deeper science and technology partnerships.

What happens next?

NZIAT uses a staged, evidence-led investment process to identify opportunities where advanced technologies can generate significant economic value for New Zealand.

Over the coming months, the quantum design phase will test and refine potential investment options and determine if and where intervention could deliver the greatest long-term impact for New Zealand.

While engagement during this phase will be more focused than during discovery, NZIAT remains committed to keeping the wider community informed as the work progresses.

NZIAT acknowledges the researchers, industry leaders, government agencies and international experts who contributed to the discovery process. Their insights, expertise and perspectives have been invaluable in shaping our understanding of New Zealand’s quantum opportunity.

Quantum technologies investment process update webinar

Q&A from the webinar

NZIAT is governed by an independent Board, which makes decisions about whether opportunities progress through our investment process and whether investments are ultimately made. The Board considers evidence gathered at each stage and can decide to proceed, refine the opportunity further, or stop. As a Crown entity, NZIAT operates under the Crown Entities Act 2004, which requires Board members to act independently and fulfil their statutory governance responsibilities. NZIAT is accountable to its shareholding Ministers and operates within the Government's broader science and innovation system, but investment decisions are made by the Board. MBIE and other agencies provide policy advice and system stewardship, and advisory bodies such as PMSITAC can offer independent advice to Government, but they do not make NZIAT investment decisions.

During discovery we found New Zealand is unlikely to be globally competitive across the full breadth of quantum technologies. Instead, the strongest opportunity appears to sit accross several related capabilities, including quantum and photonic sensing, specialised hardware and components, and future computing approaches. These areas share common science, infrastructure, skills and commercial pathways. Bringing them together enables us to test whether there is a coherent, investable opportunity that builds on New Zealand's strengths and connects them to global demand.

One of the findings from discovery was that New Zealand's greatest opportunity is likely to be through targeted participation in global quantum value chains and sovereign supply chains, rather than attempting to build a complete domestic quantum ecosystem. There are opportunities for New Zealand to contribute specialised capabilities, components, software, sensing technologies and expertise into international partnerships and supply chains where trusted, high-quality suppliers are valued.

The design phase will further test where New Zealand can add distinctive value internationally and what partnerships may be required. New Zealand researchers and firms can participate in international collaborations, including opportunities linked to Horizon Europe. MBIE funds and manages New Zealand’s association to Pillar II of Horizon Europe on behalf of the Government, enabling New Zealand researchers and organisations to lead and participate in projects addressing major global challenges, some of which involve quantum technologies.

The design phase is now underway and is expected to run for several months. During this period NZIAT will undertake targeted engagement, market testing and further analysis to assess whether there is a sufficiently strong case for invesment.

The purpose of the design phase is to test the evidence and provide the Board with a sound basis for deciding whether to progress further.

If the Board ultimately decides not to proceed, NZIAT would communicate that decision and explain the basis for it, while respecting any commercial or confidential information. A decision not to invest would not mean the process had failed. Rather, it would demonstrate that the staged investment process is working as intended by testing opportunities rigorously before committing public funding.

NZIAT assesses opportunities against its mandate to deliver long-term public value for New Zealand. That means considering not only commercial potential, but also factors such as economic impact, capability development, ecosystem benefits and New Zealand's ability to achieve meaningful outcomes at scale.

Importantly, a decision not to invest at a particular point in time would not necessarily mean "no forever". Technologies, markets, capabilities and commercial opportunities evolve. An opportunity that is not investment-ready today may become investable in the future as the ecosystem matures, critical mass develops, infrastructure improves, or market conditions change.

Regardless of the outcome, the discovery and design phases will provide valuable insights into New Zealand's quantum capabilities, opportunities, barriers and international positioning. Those insights can help inform future activity across the sector, including researchers, industry, investors, government agencies and potential international partners. The Board's role is to make an evidence-based decision that delivers the greatest long-term value for New Zealand.

It is too early to say what form any future investment might take. One of the questions the design phase is examining is what capabilities, infrastructure, partnerships and supporting conditions would be needed for success. Discovery identified infrastructure as a recurring theme, alongside talent, coordination and commercialisation pathways. If the Board ultimately decides to invest, the design work will help determine where NZIAT intervention could add the greatest value.

The design phase is focused on testing whether there is an investable opportunity for NZIAT and what form any potential investment could take. It is not intended to develop a national quantum strategy or broader science policy.

National science and innovation policy, including any future national quantum strategy, sits with Government and relevant agencies rather than NZIAT. However, both the discovery work and subsequent Board discussions identified that a national quantum strategy could help provide greater coordination, alignment and long-term direction across the quantum ecosystem.

The design phase may identify issues, opportunities or gaps that could inform future policy discussions, but its primary purpose is to assess whether there is a compelling investment opportunity that aligns with NZIAT's mandate and delivers long-term public value for New Zealand.

Published 22 Sep 2026