Quantinuum and Japan’s RIKEN have upgraded the Reimei quantum computer to an H2 system and expanded their partnership to develop practical hybrid computing.
According to The Quantum Insider, the agreement covers research using quantum hardware alongside conventional supercomputers, with SoftBank exploring future commercial access. There was no mention of potentially dead or alive cats, but we assume they must be in the mix somewhere.
For those not in the know, Reimei forms part of the NEDO-funded JHPC-quantum project. The completed upgrade gives the collaboration working hardware, a useful step on another quantum roadmap.
The partners want Japanese universities and component suppliers involved in developing a fault-tolerant quantum computer. They describe that ambition as “Made with Japan”. Fault tolerance remains a development objective. The announcement does not claim that Reimei has suddenly become a general-purpose machine capable of replacing conventional computing.
One research project uses quantum-generated data to train a model for magnetism simulations on RIKEN’s ROQUO GPU supercomputer. The partners say preliminary results outperform models trained solely on classical simulations and produce more precise predictions than the quantum machine alone.
Those are early research claims, with no detailed benchmark results supplied in the announcement. They still offer a more concrete subject than promises of unlimited quantum disruption.
A second project combines Reimei with the Fugaku supercomputer and an Nvidia evolutionary AI agent running on ROQUO to simulate a light-sensitive biomolecule.
The boffins hope a better understanding of how these molecules respond to light could inform biomolecular engineering, with possible applications in solar cells.
Quantinuum and RIKEN are drawing on experience operating the combined machines to guide their future hardware. Integrating different processors is itself part of the engineering work.
SoftBank will help assess how quantum systems could connect directly to AI data centres in Japan. The work includes checking infrastructure readiness for commercial hybrid services.
The partners have announced no date for a fault-tolerant machine or general commercial availability of the proposed connected service.
