Ann: Chairman's 2022 AGM address, page-2

ASX Announcement (ASX: AXE) 23 November 2022
Chairman's 2022 AGM address
Good morning and welcome to the fifteenth Annual General Meeting of Archer Materials
Limited. We are fortunate to be back in Sydney and able to hold the AGM in person. We have
more registered shareholders in Sydney than in any other capital city, and the in-person Sydney
AGM allows the Board and management to interact and talk with shareholders.
This year has seen volatility in world shares markets due to climbing inflation in the US, the war
in Ukraine and declining Chinese economic growth. This has led to an approximate year to date
decline of 30 – 35% of the NASDAQ and ASX All-Tech Index. Over the same period, US-listed
quantum computing stocks have suffered substantial share price decreases of 50 – 70%. Archer
has not been immune; unfortunately, our share price has decreased by about 40% this year. We
are disappointed with the share price decrease, however we don’t believe this is currently a true
reflection of our announced progress and achievements. We have been working hard to
progress our technologies and in delivering on our promises to shareholders.
Although our share price is not where we would like it to be or where we think it should be based
on our success so far, the global demand for quantum computing continues to grow. We have
often explained the benefit of quantum computers and their potential to change the world. The
US continues to enact legislation to promote quantum computing, the latest Chinese
government five-year plan commits considerable funds to quantum computing, and European
governments and universities are spending considerable funds developing quantum
technologies. The building blocks are in place for technology companies such as Archer to
benefit substantially from the mainstream adoption of quantum computing.
Our quantum technology is unique in that it has the potential to allow for a qubit processor chip,
our 12CQ chip, to be onboarded to existing mobile devices such as laptops, mobile phones and
cars. We are still in the early stages of research and development on the way to full quantum
computing, and there is considerable work to be done and scientific challenges to be overcome.
Inventing a device that is a world-first can sometimes be challenging but often rewarding. We
are fortunate to have some of the most brilliant people in Australia working for Archer, using
some of the best labs and facilities to develop our technologies.
The 12CQ chip is based on the unique properties of a carbon nanomaterial which was coinvented and discovered by our CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair. Dr Choucair and his colleagues
created nanospheres that have the potential to act as qubits. The early work done by the Archer
team was done using "clumps" of nanosphere powders. Over the past 12 months, Mohammad
and his team have successfully begun embedding and manipulating this qubit material in
miniaturised devices that are found in your mobile devices.
Building something that has never been invented is not easy. However, based on the results to
date, we are confident that we are on the right track with the development of the 12CQ chip. To
date, we have shown an ability to overcome hurdles and deliver on our ambitious goals. We want
to remind shareholders and investors of the potential global opportunity our technologies
represent, now and into the future, as we grow more broadly as a promising semiconductor
company. I will let that sink in – we are building something the world has never seen before.
When was the last time you, as an investor, invested in a company with a true world-first
technology?
Corporate Archer Materials Limited (ACN: 123 993 233)
Annual General Meeting Lot Fourteen, Frome Road, Adelaide SA 5000
Over the past year, we have made considerable progress in the development of our 12CQ chip
and the biochip. While the 12CQ chip is an intense focus for us, the biochip, lab-on-a-chip, is
gradually receiving the credit it deserves. The ingenuity of our team has allowed us to build out
an early prototype biochip platform using devices like wettable graphene transistors. These
devices, paired with specialist software developed by our team, have allowed Archer to build inhouse systems to rapidly progress the development of the biochip. This approach has allowed
us to achieve quicker success and more cost-effective development.
As a semiconductor company, we can’t stand still. The 12CQ chip development complements our
lab-on-chip technology, they are both quantum technologies in their own right, one uses a
quantum material for qubits, the other graphene, also a quantum material, for sensing. At
Archer, we have two technologies that have the potential to change Archer as a company
significantly.
The carbon nanosphere is the specialist material needed to make the 12CQ chip work, the
biochip relies on graphene. Just last month we announced that we had successfully fabricated a
liquid gated graphene field effect transistor (gFET). The gFET device is the sensing component
that will be used for digitising biologically relevant signals, like those from target analytes of
viruses or bacteria, and it is a foundational feature of Archer's 'lab-on-a-chip' biochip
technology.
Like the 12CQ chip, we have made considerable progress with the biochip development this year.
In addition to the design and fabrication of the gFET, during the year Dr Mohammad Choucair
and his team have successfully:
• fabricated hair-thin microfluidic channels on a silicon wafer;
• fabricated component feature sizes reaching sub-10nm on a silicon wafer that would
potentially allow for high performance sensing; and
• developed biochemical reactions with the potential for on-chip detection and
quantification of specific DNA or RNA fragments relevant to viruses and bacteria.
We are reaching the stage with our 12CQ chip and biochip technologies where we need to
expand and scale to access people, laboratory facilities, semiconductor foundries and end users.
We regularly engage with overseas partners but intend to increase the pace and scope of this
engagement during the next 12 months.
Quantum computing is relatively new in Australia with Archer being the only ASX listed
quantum computing company. Consequently, one major disadvantage with developing a worldfirst technology in Australia is that we spend considerable effort educating potential investors
on "what is quantum computing". In contrast, US and European investors tend to focus more on
"we understand quantum computing, we understand your technology, but we are more
interested in how you will deploy your technology". In addition to accessing overseas people and
facilities, to help better realise the value of our work for our existing shareholders, we plan to
engage more actively with overseas-based investors.
As highlighted above, we have achieved a considerable amount during the past year and could
not have done so without Dr Choucair and the team he has assembled. After last year's capital
raising, we undertook a significant employment drive and have brought onboard talented and
enthusiastic people. We were fortunate to have attracted such high-calibre people.
Corporate Archer Materials Limited (ACN: 123 993 233)
Annual General Meeting Lot Fourteen, Frome Road, Adelaide SA 5000
Dr Choucair and his team have achieved a great deal in the past 12 months, and I want to thank
them for their dedication and ingenuity. I also want to thank our shareholders for their
continued support and faith in the Company.
If we can continue our success and work hard and cost-effectively, then the share price should
react accordingly.
Quantum computing worldwide is growing at a phenomenal rate. As the only ASX listed
company developing unique quantum computing technology, we believe we are well placed to
participate in the global quantum technology industry. We will now move to the formal part of
the meeting.
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