Quantinuum and RIKEN expand Japan’s quantum AI supercomputing push
Quantinuum and Japan’s RIKEN have expanded their partnership to advance hybrid quantum AI supercomputing, following the upgrade of Quantinuum’s Reimei system to System H2. The partners will also work with SoftBank Corp. on linking quantum computers directly to AI data centers in Japan.
- Reimei at RIKEN has been upgraded from Quantinuum’s H1 system to System H2.
- The partners will apply quantum computing, supercomputing and AI to electronics, energy and life sciences.
- Quantinuum and RIKEN plan to develop a fault-tolerant quantum computer made with Japanese partners.
- SoftBank will work with the partners on connecting quantum computers to AI data centers in Japan.
Reimei upgrade expands research capacity
Reimei, Quantinuum’s quantum computer installed at RIKEN, has been upgraded from the H1 system to the System H2 model. The system is being used through the JCHP-quantum project, which is funded by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, or NEDO.
According to the companies, the upgrade strengthens the project’s hybrid quantum supercomputing platform and enables researchers to study more complex quantum systems. These systems are increasingly difficult to simulate using classical computing alone.
Quantinuum and RIKEN plan to combine quantum computing, supercomputing and AI to develop applications in electronics, energy and life sciences. The announcement describes the upgraded platform as the world’s most powerful hybrid quantum supercomputing platform of its kind, a claim made by the partners.
Early projects target materials and biomolecules
Two research projects began operating on Reimei before the public launch of its services. In one project, the partners are using ROQUO, RIKEN’s JCHP quantum GPU supercomputer, to train an AI model on quantum data generated by Reimei for magnetism simulations.
The first results suggest the model can make more accurate predictions than models trained only on classical simulations, and more accurate predictions than the quantum computer itself, according to the announcement. Understanding magnetism at the atomic scale could support work on materials for technologies such as ultra-high-field MRI and smart electricity grids.
A second project combines Reimei, RIKEN’s Fugaku supercomputer and NVIDIA’s scalable AI agent running on ROQUO. The goal is to simulate a complex photoactive biomolecule at a scale and level of detail the partners describe as unprecedented. The research could help explain how biomolecules respond to light and inform the design of more efficient solar cells.
A Japanese fault-tolerant system and industry access
Quantinuum and RIKEN will use their experience integrating and operating Reimei to support the development of a fault-tolerant quantum computer made with Japanese universities and domestic component suppliers. The initiative is intended to combine Quantinuum’s quantum technology with Japan’s research and manufacturing expertise.
Under a separate agreement, Quantinuum, RIKEN and SoftBank will study how quantum computers could connect directly to AI data centers in Japan. They will assess infrastructure readiness and examine how connected systems could support commercial hybrid quantum AI computing services.
The planned work could broaden access beyond the research community, but the announcement describes it as an exploration and development effort rather than a launched commercial service. The partnership is supported through NEDO’s project on research and development of a hybrid quantum supercomputing platform for exploring unexplored computing capabilities.
