Dirac Labs has secured $1.8 million in pre-seed funding to develop a quantum-based navigation system designed to function where GPS signals fail. The company’s technology aims to seamlessly integrate into existing vehicles, from airplanes to submarines, by plugging directly into current GPS ports, eliminating the need for costly redesigns.
Utilizing measurements of Earth’s magnetic field, Dirac Labs is building sensors that offer positioning capabilities underwater, underground, and in other GPS-denied environments; “GPS is global, but not universal,” says Sanket Deshpande, co-founder and CEO of Dirac Labs. TitletownTech, a venture capital partnership between Microsoft and the Green Bay Packers, led the funding round.
$1.8M Pre-Seed Funds Quantum Universal Positioning System Prototype
Dirac Labs secured $1.8 million. This financial injection will directly support field trials aimed at refining the company’s technology and demonstrating its capabilities in challenging environments. These sensors measure Earth’s magnetic field with extreme precision, offering a resilient alternative to satellite-based positioning. “Quantum magnetometry has worked for years,” explains Michael Nayak, a scientific advisor to Dirac Labs and CTO of the XPRIZE Foundation, “The barrier has always been fielding a sensor that holds accuracy in real conditions at a cost you can actually scale.
Dirac Labs built manufacturability into the physics from the start, which is why I see their approach as genuinely deployable navigation infrastructure.” The system is specifically designed for seamless integration, intending to plug into the GPS device ports on airplanes, submarines and other vehicles without requiring extensive re-engineering of existing platforms. “The signals have never reached underground or underwater, where a growing share of exploration, mining and defense work happens.
Earth’s magnetic field is already in those places, and it only gets stronger the closer you get to the rock. Dirac Labs is building the quantum sensors that turn that field into positioning for the platforms that need it most.” Jill Enos, managing partner of TitletownTech, emphasized the potential impact, stating, “Dirac Labs is combining quantum sensing, AI and semiconductor-compatible manufacturing to build a scalable navigation solution for the places where GPS cannot be relied upon.
The leadership team has the technical depth and commercial ambition to define this emerging category, and we are proud to lead their pre-seed investment.” The company, spun out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, aims to close the gap toward true universal positioning and enable missions currently deemed impossible.
NOAA funded the Great Lakes Innovation Accelerator to bring new technology into the ocean and coastal economy, and Dirac Labs is a great example of that mission in action.
Ryan Jeffery, Vice President of Sustainability at gener8tor
Diamond Sensors & AI Enable GPS-Denied Navigation
Dirac Labs’ approach centers on diamond-based quantum sensors engineered for scalability and designed to operate in environments where GPS signals are unavailable, such as underwater and underground locations. Beyond hardware, Dirac Labs integrates artificial intelligence models to process signals in real-time and enhance sensor performance, ensuring accurate positioning even as external conditions change.
This combination of quantum sensing and AI is critical to overcoming the historical challenges of deploying quantum technologies outside of controlled settings. Early engagement with defense and industrial partners has already validated the demand for this technology, suggesting a pathway toward routine operation in previously inaccessible environments.
There is a clear and timely need for navigation and positioning capabilities underwater, underground and more.
Jill Enos, managing partner of TitletownTech
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