November 11, 2024 -- A joint research group including Akira Furusawa, team leader of the Optical Quantum Computing Research Team at the RIKEN Quantum Computing Center (Vice Director of the Quantum Computing Center and Professor at the Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo), Hidehiro Yonezawa, team leader of the Optical Quantum Control Research Team, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), and Takuji Hiraoka, CEO of Fixstars Amplify Inc., has succeeded in developing a new type of quantum computer. This will be the world’s first platform for general-purpose optical quantum computing.

Quantum computers are expected to solve various problems at ultra-high speeds by using the principles of quantum mechanics for calculations, and there is a fierce competition to develop them around the world. The RIKEN Quantum Computing Research Center also unveiled a superconducting quantum computer in 2023.

This time, the joint research group developed a new quantum computer using an optical method. The optical method is expected to enable faster and larger-scale quantum calculations than conventional quantum computers, and will advance quantum computer research to a new stage, including solving previously difficult computational problems.

The newly developed optical quantum computer can be accessed through a cloud system via the internet. For the time being, it will be available through a joint research agreement, but in the future, it is expected to contribute to expanding the use of quantum computing platforms in Japan, creating use cases for quantum computers, and contributing to the development of the domestic quantum industry and improving its international competitiveness.