Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) is working with IBM on a long-range plan to build a 10,000-qubit quantum computer.
The plan to create what would be a massively powerful quantum machine comes as Japan’s Fujitsu also said it had received an order from AIST for a quantum computer. The new also arrived several weeks after QuEra said AIST will deploy QuEra’s own quantum machine and connect it to ABCI-Q, a classical supercomputer now being built for AIST that will rely on more than 2,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs, and will be charged with quantum simulations and related research.
It is not yet clear if or how all of these commitments and quantum computers will align with one another, but it is worth noting that a 10,000-qubit quantum computer the likes of which AIST and IBM are talking about may not be ready for several years, while the QuEra and Fujitsu machines will be installed as early as next year.
An AIST spokesperson told Fierce Electronics that AIST and IBM recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the project, and noted that further details are still to be decided, but that such a machine eventually would be connected to the ABCI-Q classical supercomputer. The spokesperson did not specify how many qubits the computer would have, but those details were reported by Bloomberg and featured in other reports. IBM notably has been a pioneer in the field of quantum computers based on superconducting qubits, as well as quantum computing software.
An AIST press release further stated, “AIST and IBM will work together to promote the development of next-generation quantum computers and their supply chain. Japanese industry involvement in the procurement of quantum hardware parts for the development of future quantum computing systems is expected, and supplier development will also be promoted through this effort. We also believe that by promoting the use of quantum computing in industry, we can accelerate the growth of the quantum industry in Japan. We will help foster a large community for the development of industry use cases focused on business impact.”
Meanwhile, Fujitsu said in a statement that it recently received the AIST order for a gate-model quantum computer using superconducting qubits that “is scheduled to be operated by the Global Research and Development Center for Business by Quantum-AI technology (G-QuAT) of AIST in early 2025.” The statement added, “This is the first time that a Japanese vendor has received an order for a commercial quantum computer system.”
As for the QuEra system, which uses different qubit technology–neutral atoms-based qubits and not superconducting qubits–QuEra confirmed recently that its system would be deployed alongside ABCI-Q next year.
As for AIST’s over-arching goals for quantum computing, the AIST spokesperson stated, “AIST aims to support market development by creating use cases. We will develop a platform that integrates conventional computers and quantum computers, but this is part of the overall concept.”
A number of countries around the world now have their own national initiatives to invest in quantum computing, a trend which often has inspired comparisons to the global, politically-charged space race. In the quantum computing race, the U.S. and China have been seen as early leaders, but these recent moves involving Japan’s AIST suggest we should not think of this as just a two-horse race.