Quantinuum and RIKEN expand Japan’s quantum AI supercomputing effort

Reimei upgrade expands hybrid computing platform

Reimei, Quantinuum’s quantum computer installed at RIKEN, has completed its upgrade to the H2 system. The machine operates as part of the JHPC-quantum project, which is funded through Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, or NEDO.

According to Quantinuum and RIKEN, the upgrade strengthens the project’s hybrid quantum-HPC platform and will allow researchers to study more complex quantum systems. These systems are increasingly difficult to simulate using classical computing alone, potentially broadening the scientific problems that researchers can investigate.

The partners plan to combine quantum computing, supercomputing and AI to develop use cases in electronics, energy and life sciences. The companies describe the upgraded RIKEN platform as the most powerful of its kind in the world.

Research targets materials and biomolecules

Two research projects that began operating on Reimei before the public launch of its services illustrate the intended use of the hybrid platform.

In one project, the partners are using ROQUO, RIKEN’s GPU-equipped quantum supercomputer, to train an AI model with quantum data generated by Reimei. The model is being used to simulate magnetism. Preliminary results suggest it can make more accurate predictions than models trained only on classical simulations, and even more accurate predictions than the quantum computer itself, according to the partners.

The research could support work on materials for technologies including ultra-high-field magnetic resonance imaging and smart electricity grids, although the source presents these as potential applications.

A second project combines Reimei, RIKEN’s Fugaku supercomputer and NVIDIA’s evolutionary AI agent running on ROQUO. The partners are using the systems to simulate a complex photoactive biomolecule at a level of detail and scale they describe as unprecedented. Understanding how biomolecules respond to light could contribute to the design of more efficient solar cells and other industrial applications in biomolecular engineering.

A Japan-made fault-tolerant quantum computer

Quantinuum and RIKEN will also work with Japanese universities and domestic component suppliers to develop a fault-tolerant quantum computer made in Japan. The project will combine Quantinuum’s quantum technology with Japanese research and manufacturing expertise, using experience gained from integrating and operating Reimei at RIKEN.

The partners have also signed a separate agreement with SoftBank to explore direct connections between quantum computing systems and AI data centers in Japan. They will assess infrastructure readiness and examine how connected systems could support commercial hybrid quantum AI computing services, extending access beyond the research community.

For users and businesses, the initiative points to a possible path from research infrastructure toward commercial access. The companies have not announced a launch date for those services. The work also links Japan’s quantum computing development with its AI and high-performance computing infrastructure, while the planned fault-tolerant system remains a research and development goal.