SUN Magnetics is a dynamic and innovative start-up software development company poised to revolutionise the industry. Coenrad Fourie, the CEO, leads a team of exceptionally talented and passionate engineers, dedicating cutting-edge solutions that meet the evolving needs of businesses in today’s digital era.
“Quantum computing systems,” explains Fourie, “rely on cryogenically cooled superconductor circuits, for which design and verification tools did not exist before SUN Magnetics entered the market. In this industry, design and manufacturing turnaround is long and expensive, and device failure due to insufficient verification before fabrication is quite costly. We solve specific design verification problems that no other company could do commercially and test that in the market. The first customers tried our tools because there was no high-fidelity circuit design and verification alternative. Their results were so good that word spread, and we could expand our product range and capabilities.”
While the market was initially small, the team knew that it had the potential for significant growth if quantum computing systems gained traction. “We are currently seeing growth in the industry, and while we are the dominant market player,” says Fourie, “it is with the assistance of Stellenbosch University and Innovus that we’ve been able to reach this point in such a short period.”
“Stellenbosch University provided the environment in which we could innovate and develop intellectual property when it would have been too costly to do on my own, and Innovus gave us access to business tools: from accounting and tax services to legal and license assistance right through to company branding and product distribution help,” says Fourie.
The company’s biggest challenge when it started was the lack of reliable measured data from physical superconductor circuits and systems, which made verification and calibration of their tools difficult. Fast forward to present day, this matter has now largely been solved, as the company have gained access to a vast amount of data sets. However, the main challenge for them right now is managing user support and international transactions with a customer base that is located all over the world.
The journey of forming a company that provides a livelihood to engineers in a very niche field has been immensely satisfying to Fourie: “We are very proud of how we managed to become a globally trusted developer and vendor of software design tools in a very closely-knit global community.”
SUN Magnetics’ products have made it possible for superconductor and quantum circuit designers to design significantly more complex devices, in some respects beyond what they imagined was possible when they first started their tool development. “We are immensely proud to be able to showcase local talent and to have such a high retention rate of customers,” adds Fourie.
“Our business philosophy is to strive to pre-empt the next design challenge for quantum systems and to deploy software design tools that provide capabilities to overcome those challenges. We hope to grow with the quantum systems industry and remain relevant for many years to come.”
Discover more about Sun Magnetics here.