OptQC Corp., a Japanese company developing photonic quantum computers (also known as optical quantum computers), and Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) have announced the successful installation and commencement of operations of MoQuren, OptQC’s first photonic quantum computer, at AIST’s Global Research and Development Center for Business by Quantum-AI technology (G-QuAT).
This is the first Japan-made photonic system to be deployed in an Research & Development (R&D) environment in Japan. It is also a step towards realizing SystemO, a key component of the hybrid quantum-classical infrastructure ABCI-Q, currently being constructed by AIST.
Following the installation of MoQuren, OptQC and AIST will first test and ensure the stable operation of the hardware and the integration process into ABCI-Q. Once this is completed, enterprises and research institutions will be given access to the system. OptQC is also concurrently developing a Software Development Kit (SDK) bundled with simulation features, which aims to facilitate early application development and which will be made publicly available when completed.
“At AIST’s G-QuAT, we have been working on the research and development of quantum-classical hybrid computing technologies utilizing optical quantum computers through our joint research with OptQC. We expect that the start of this provision to external users will serve as a catalyst to further advance technical verification and use-case development with practical application in mind. In continued collaboration with OptQC, we will work toward the advancement of quantum computers and the creation of their use cases, contributing to the resolution of social issues and the creation of new industries,” said Deputy Director Masahiro Horibe of G-QuAT, AIST.
“We are thrilled to have built and launched operations of our first machine, ‘MoQuren,’ at AIST’s G-QuAT, which leads quantum and AI research in Japan. This represents an extremely important milestone for our company. We are confident that our core ‘optical method’ technology, which operates at room temperature and ambient pressure and is highly compatible with existing infrastructure, is the technology capable of advancing next-generation computing infrastructure to the practical phase the fastest. Through our collaboration with AIST’s ABCI-Q, we will do our utmost to establish commercial quantum computing services that go beyond basic research and can be truly utilized by enterprises in actual business settings,” said Kan Takase, Representative Director and CEO of OptQC.
