If GPS fails, Mesa Quantum has a backup solution.

• Mesa Quantum, a Boulder, Colorado startup, has secured $5.4 million in funding to develop chip-scale quantum sensors.
• Quantum sensors from the startup could provide navigation, timing, and positioning data to electronic devices, eliminating the need for them to receive GPS satellite signals.
• Many GPS satellites covering the U.S. have aged beyond their initially intended lifespan.

The global communication system, which is heavily dependent on GPS satellites and the signals they transmit, has resulted in flight delays in Sao Paolo, Brazil, truckers leading down unsafe routes in Richmond, Vermont, and power grid disruptions throughout Ukraine.

A startup in Boulder, Colorado called Mesa Quantum is developing a chip-sized alternative technology to ensure that U.S. infrastructure won't fall apart even if the nation's GPS satellites are disrupted by weather, warfare or age.

Mesa Quantum is developing "miniaturized quantum sensors" that can detect changes in the environment and signal the device's location, direction, and synchronization with other systems.

The sensors can guarantee clear and stable video calls regardless of the users' location, or allow robots, underwater drones, and autonomous vehicles to navigate skillfully in crowded areas or around obstacles where GPS signals are weak or absent.

In 2023, Mesa Quantum was cofounded by Sristy Agrawal and Wale Lawal, and the company has since received a $1.9 million Space Force grant to showcase its alternative to GPS technology in both military and civilian contexts.

J2 Ventures, a Boston-based health and defense tech fund, led a seed stage round of funding for the company, raising approximately $3.7 million, along with hardware investors SOSV.

Alex Harstrick, cofounder and managing partner of J2 Ventures, stated that his fund supported Mesa Quantum due to the founders' remarkable technical expertise.

Recently, Agrawal earned a doctorate from the University of Colorado, in a prestigious program linked with the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Her research has centered on quantum information, computing, and gravity.

Agrawal stated to CNBC that the lab beneath her office at the university houses the world's most precise clock. "Working here and engaging with various groups has taught me the practical implications of these technologies, not just the theoretical possibilities for the future as we often hear about with quantum computing," she added.

Lawal, her cofounder, holds a PhD in materials science and nano-engineering from Rice University and an MBA from Harvard.

He spent years in military research organizations developing systems for use in GPS contested environments, including precision-guided missiles, swarm drone technology, and magnetic navigation systems used to guide military aircraft before taking the entrepreneurial plunge.

Unmanned aircraft losing GPS signals can hinder critical missions, such as search and rescue, as they rely on these signals to surveil the environment and provide intelligence information to troops down range. Any disruptions to military aircraft and other vehicles' systems could lead to catastrophic events for warfighters in the air and on the ground.

Numerous GPS satellites owned by the U.S. are currently past their intended operational periods.

The scientific duo quickly agreed on the need for mass-manufacturable, chip-scale technology to address GPS-related failures in military and commercial systems when they first met.

In the next few years, Harstrick's fund anticipates that Mesa Quantum will validate its first demonstration of mass-scale "atomic clocks" (quantum timing sensors) with a top-tier semiconductor manufacturing partner.

Additionally, he predicts that Mesa Quantum's sensor technology will be highly sought after by businesses that construct or manage their own data centers.

GPS is used by data centers to synchronize their networks, enabling accurate communication or data sharing across the cloud. Any disruption to this synchronization can lead to crashes, affecting financial, hospital, or social networks.

The CTO stated that technology that safeguards data centers against crashes could prevent data loss and enhance cybersecurity.

If mass-produced, the U.S. government is likely to be among Mesa Quantum's biggest early customers, as they have established major initiatives to spur innovation in this area and seek to purchase a million quantum sensors each year.

Mesa Quantum aims to expand its team in Boulder with the help of its grant funding and seed round, specifically hiring atomic molecular and optical physicists, engineers, and manufacturing experts this year.

She stated that her long-term goal is to introduce a suite of quantum sensors to the market that can perform all the functions of GPS-based systems, but without the associated risks and vulnerabilities.