January 25, 2024 -- Fujitsu from February to September 2023 conducted the “Fujitsu $100,000 Quantum Simulator Challenge,” a global competition in which Fujitsu called members of the industry and academia to test Fujitsu’s 39 qubit quantum simulator on novel problems and applications. Fujitsu has officially announced four winning teams of the competition during a winning ceremony held at the Fujitsu Quantum Day on January 25, 2024 at De Oude Bibliotheek Academy in Delft, the Netherlands.

Fujitsu received applications from a total of 43 teams of startups and universities from 17 countries and regions. Among them, 20 teams that passed the first selection process where Fujitsu evaluated applicants’ use cases with regard to their innovativeness and how they applied Fujitsu’s quantum simulator to contribute to the solution of societal problems. After the contest period, participating teams submitted a report of their research results. Based on these results an award committee consisting of 13 members including researchers from Fujitsu’s Quantum Laboratory awarded four winner teams of the challenge.

The committee awarded Quanscient Oy from Finland with the first prize for its project “quantum algorithms for fluid dynamics.”

Participants in total spent about 56,000 hours using the quantum simulator during the contest, and created various use cases ranging from basic research results including error correction technology to algorithm development that contributes to solving societal problems. The total award amount is USD 100,000.

Fujitsu plans to hold the quantum simulator challenge again in 2024 and beyond, utilizing an enhanced quantum simulator with 40 qubits, one of the largest in the world (3). Moving forward, Fujitsu will continue to collaborate with advanced startups in the quantum computing field globally and lead R&D toward the practical implementation of quantum computing technologies.

Hideto Okada, Head of Technology Strategy Unit, Fujitsu, comments:

“Participants of the quantum simulator challenge have developed various advanced applications using Fujitsu’s quantum simulator. All these exciting use cases highlight the power of quantum computing to quickly and accurately contribute to the solution of societal problems. We will continue to be at the forefront of quantum computing by working with our customers and partners to drive the development of quantum simulators and quantum applications.

The Fujitsu quantum simulator challenge showed the importance of community activities and competition for innovation, and we will continue to work with the quantum computing community to drive further progress in the field of quantum computing.”