IBM, Riken unveil first IBM Quantum System Two in Japan

IBM (IBM) and Riken, a national research laboratory in Japan, unveiled the first IBM Quantum System Two ever to be deployed outside of the United States and beyond an IBM Quantum Data Center. The availability of this system also marks a milestone as the first quantum computer to be co-located with Riken’s supercomputer Fugaku. This effort is supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, an organization under the jurisdiction of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s “Development of Integrated Utilization Technology for Quantum and Supercomputers” as part of the “Project for Research and Development of Enhanced Infrastructures for Post 5G Information and Communications Systems.” IBM Quantum System Two at Riken is powered by IBM’s 156-qubit IBM Quantum Heron, the company’s best performing quantum processor to-date. The companies said, “The installation of IBM Quantum System Two at RIKEN is poised to expand previous achievements by RIKEN and IBM researchers as they seek to discover algorithms that offer quantum advantage: the point at which a quantum computer can solve a problem faster, cheaper, or more accurately than any known classical method. This includes work recently featured on the cover of Science Advances, based on sample-based quantum diagonalization techniques to accurately model the electronic structure of iron sulfides, a compound present widely in nature and organic systems. The ability to realistically model such a complex system is essential for many problems in chemistry, and was historically believed to require fault-tolerant quantum computers. SQD workflows are among the first demonstrations of how the near-term quantum computers of today can provide scientific value when integrated with powerful classical infrastructure.”