NTT recently invested in a deep-tech start-up named OptQC, with the end goal of this collaboration to advance joint research into quantum computing.
The companies are working to deliver a 1 million-qubit quantum computer within the next five-years which could be used in industries including finance, manufacturing, pharmaceutical development, energy optimisation and advanced AI.
NTT president and CEO Akira Shimada said the capital and business alliance with OptQC covers the research, development and launch of quantum machinery with the “potential to contribute to solving a wide range of social challenges”.
OptQC representative director and CEO Kan Takase said joint discussions of technical and commercialisation elements of quantum computing conducted since their original agreement would be solidified by the latest deal.
He expressed great expectations for what the pair could achieve by combining NTT’s networking capabilities with OptQC’s quantum computing technology “developed based on 25-years of research at the University of Tokyo”.
The companies intend to complete initial system architecture and component technology design by March 2028, by which time they also aim to have a 10,000-qubit quantum computing system up and running.
Work over the following two years would cover verification testing and developing a software platform to enable integration of quantum and classical computers. The target to deliver the final 1 million-qubit machine is end-March 2031.
Their initial research agreement involves using wavelength-division multiplexing technologies to gradually scale qubit volumes by end-March 2028.
By the same point, they plan to have developed a “fault-tolerant optical quantum computer” and the architecture for the 1-million-qubit version.
The pair set various goals involving creating a supply chain, proof-of-concepts, and expanding use-cases and verification over the next four years.
Source: Mobile World Live
Image Credit: NTT
Source: Tahawul Tech