Dirac Labs, a University of Wisconsin-Madison spinout, raised $1.8 million in pre-seed funding to prototype diamond-based quantum navigation sensors. TitletownTech led the round, joined by Automotive Ventures, Riceberg Ventures, quantumEDGE Ventures, gradCapital, and angels Balaji Srinivasan and Jude Gomila.
How the sensors work
The startup's NVD-4 sensor measures local variations in Earth's magnetic field using diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers. Geomagnetic signatures pass through rock and water, so the system aims to provide positioning underwater, underground, and in GPS-denied regions where radio signals jam or spoof. AI models handle signal processing and sensor fusion, turning weak geomagnetic readings into location fixes.
The market fit
The sensors target a plug-and-play form factor that connects to standard GPS ports on aircraft, submarines, autonomous underwater vehicles, and mining equipment. Dirac Labs says the hardware uses standard CMOS fabrication, which lowers cost and supports volume production. Co-founders CEO Sanket Deshpande and COO Aishwarya Das also secured grants from NOAA, the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum, and other programs.
What remains unproven
Pre-seed rounds fund prototypes, not production. The company has no field-tested unit yet, and the unjammable, unspoofable positioning claims are vendor claims until an independent evaluation runs. For a broader look at quantum sensing, see our Infleqtion Colorado sensing post.