Fujitsu and RIKEN (a leading Japanese research institute) have announced that they’ve developed a new 256-qubit superconducting quantum computer, which significantly expands their quantum computing capabilities. Fujitsu said that the computer is at the RIKEN RQC-FUJITSU Collaboration Center and implements high-density implementation techniques.
This new machine builds on a previous quantum computer that the pair developed, which had 64 qubits. With the fourfold increase in qubits, this computer will be able to perform analysis of larger molecules and help to demonstrate more advanced error correction algorithms.
This new quantum computer won’t be monopolized by Fujitsu and RIKEN, and the pair has plans to give companies and research institutes from around the world access to the machine to advance their projects. It said access will be given to these entities during the first quarter of fiscal 2025.
Aside from just expanding the number of qubits available, Fujitsu and RIKEN made a breakthrough related to cooling. They said that effective cooling has been achieved through a dilution refrigerator “through the incorporation of high-density implementation and cutting-edge thermal design."
In the future, Fujitsu and RIKEN are planning to improve their platform’s usability by enabling the seamless interaction between quantum and classical computers. This will allow users to run hybrid classical-quantum algorithms. The pair also said they’re now working on a 1,000-qubit quantum computer, and it’s due to be installed next year.
The two organizations also revealed an agreement to continue collaborating through March 2029. That will enable them to continue innovating on this work.
While this 256-qubit quantum computer is not the leader of the pack (there are already 1,000+ qubit quantum computers), it’s important that different approaches to quantum computing are tried, as some may ultimately fail to scale to a level where they have true utility.
Source: Fujitsu