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Japan Launches Shunkai, the Nation's First Full-Stack Neutral-Atom Quantum Computer

Japan has reached a significant milestone in quantum computing with the launch of Shunkai, the country's first operational full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer. Developed by a research team led by Professor Ohmori Kenji at the Institute for Molecular Science, the system utilizes neutral atoms trapped by laser tweezers in a vacuum chamber. Unlike superconducting systems, Shunkai operates at room temperature, eliminating the need for bulky cryogenic cooling infrastructure. The project is a three-way collaboration between the Institute for Molecular Science, Hitachi Ltd., and the American company Infleqtion. Infleqtion was selected as the sole foreign partner for Japan's Quantum Moonshot program, providing the quantum processing unit. The system currently features 50 physical qubits and is planned to scale up to 500 qubits, with a long-term goal of reaching 10,000 physical qubits by 2031. Professor Ohmori Kenji stated that the system aims to replace existing computing infrastructure by becoming faster and more useful than supercomputers for specific social problems. The research team will now focus on improving system stability and scalability to enable large-scale calculations.

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