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Infleqtion wins $20M NASA Quantum Gravity Gradiometer deal. NASA added $20 million to Infleqtion's Quantum Gravity Gradiometer Pathfinder, raising total program investment to $40 million. FreeQuantumComputing On August 27, 2026, NASA awarded Infleqtion a $20 million follow-on contract for the Quantum Gravity Gradiometer Pathfinder (QGGPf) mission. The award brings NASA's total investment in the program to $40 million and shifts the work from technology demonstration into hardware development and space-qualification. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads the mission. Infleqtion is responsible for the atomic physics package, the quantum core of the sensor. The system uses ultracold rubidium atoms cooled to pico-Kelvin temperatures to measure gravity gradients from orbit. NASA and Infleqtion aim to complete hardware development by 2027 and launch an orbital test no earlier than 2030. The mission extends earlier work by NASA JPL and Infleqtion on the Cold Atom Lab aboard the International Space Station. It also continues NASA's gravity-mapping legacy from the GRACE missions, but with a quantum sensor that measures local gravity gradients rather than inferring mass changes from orbital perturbations. Infleqtion plans to build and test an initial sensor head and electronics engineering development unit at the Einstein Elevator, a microgravity facility in Hannover, Germany. The facility simulates the low-gravity environment the instrument will experience in orbit without the cost of a launch campaign for every test. A quantum gravity gradiometer detects tiny variations in Earth's gravitational field. Those variations reveal mass distributions underground and under ice sheets. NASA identifies applications including monitoring groundwater reserves, ice mass, drought, flooding, and natural-resource shifts. The data would feed into climate and resource-planning models. The QGGPf mission is explicitly a pathfinder. It is designed to prove the technology in low Earth orbit and establish the engineering foundation for future operational instruments, not to replace existing gravity missions immediately. The 2027 hardware-completion date and the 2030 launch target are forward-looking. Infleqtion and NASA supply the schedule, the budget figures, and the technical description. The real test will be whether the sensor survives launch, operates in orbit, and produces gravity-gradient data that matches or exceeds existing methods. For context on Infleqtion's broader sensing work, see its Colorado headquarters and 2027 field-test post. Its quantum sensing explainer covers how atom-based sensors work and where they differ from quantum computers.

IMS unveils Japan's first full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer "Shunkai," Now operational. Aug 25, 2026, 3:00 AM ET OKAZAKI, Japan, Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Institute for Molecular Science (hereinafter "IMS"), National Institutes of Natural Sciences, announced on August 24 that Japan's first full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer "Shunkai," developed by a research team led by Professor Kenji Ohmori, is now operational. Quantum computers are being developed in various modalities worldwide. However, there remain challenges to address for their practical applications, such as scalability and error correction during computation. Anticipated to overcome those challenges, neutral-atom quantum computing has been rapidly attracting attention from industry, academia and government worldwide as a groundbreaking new modality. Neutral-atom quantum computing uses a single atom as a qubit (*1) and has exceptional features, including: - Room-temperature operation without the need for a refrigerator. - Achieve quantum entanglement (*2) (the source of quantum speedup) between arbitrary qubits by moving the atoms (qubits) during computations. - Flexibly optimize qubit configuration for each algorithm. - Relatively easy to increase the number of qubits. - Long lifetime of quantum information in each qubit. At the IMS, Professor Ohmori is the project manager leading the neutral-atom quantum computing research and development team for the project "Large-scale and high-coherence fault-tolerant quantum computer with dynamical atom arrays" under the Cabinet Office/JST Moonshot Research and Development Program Goal 6, "Realization of a fault-tolerant universal quantum computer." Aiming at practical quantum computers, the team has developed Japan's first full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer named Shunkai (see Fig. 1). A "full-stack" system, as shown in Fig. 2, refers to a system that integrates multiple layers (stacks) necessary for converting user inputs into drive signals for the computing device to execute computational output as its result. Personal computers and supercomputers are examples of full-stack systems. Inside Shunkai, atomic qubits are captured in an array using "optical tweezers (*3)" generated by tightly focusing laser light with an objective lens. Quantum calculations are performed by irradiating the atoms with microwaves or laser light. The computational results are interpreted by observing the fluorescence from each individual atom with a camera. The IMS has taken the lead in developing this full-stack quantum computer, leveraging a strong industry-academia collaboration within the Ohmori Moonshot Project with Hitachi, Ltd. for the software stack and with Infleqtion, Inc. for the Quantum Processing Unit (QPU) stack. Shunkai will use approximately 50 qubits in its early stage, and will expand its scale to approximately 500 qubits. The system will be partially open to external users for the development of its applications and the demonstration and improvement of quantum error correction (*4). Plans also include collaboration with Yaqumo Inc., where Professor Ohmori serves as a founder and executive advisor, from the viewpoint of the social implementation and upgrade of the quantum computer. Future Developments In the second stage of the Ohmori Moonshot Project "Neutral atom-based fault-tolerant quantum computer" that just started in April 2026, the team will operate this full-stack quantum computer to further develop and improve the integration and control technologies, upgrade the system toward fault tolerance and larger scales, and enable high stability and high-fidelity quantum computation for extended periods of time. By March 2031, at the end of the second stage, the goal is to realize a large-scale, high-performance neutral-atom fault-tolerant quantum computer, with 10,000 physical qubits and quantum error detection and correction capabilities, available to external users. Message from Professor Kenji Ohmori, Institute for Molecular Science: "Neutral atom-based quantum computers have recently been rapidly attracting attention around the world as a new modality that could exceed the limits of the superconducting modality, which started its development earlier. I think it is extremely significant that now we have developed Japan's first full-stack quantum computer in this cutting-edge modality and started its operation. We expect that the external use of our full-stack machine Shunkai, for example, by the theory and software researchers for the development of error-correction technologies, and by the corporate researchers toward practical applications would lead to ripple effects on various fields in industry, academia and government around the world. It is also expected that Shunkai will be integrated with the existing shared supercomputer facility at the IMS to develop into a quantum-GPU hybrid computing center." About Shunkai It is named after Harumi Shibukawa, where his given name "Harumi" is also pronounced as Shunkai, an Edo-period (1603-1867) astronomer who established the first original calendar system in Japan. Calculations of celestial motion on the celestial sphere evoke the precise control of quantum states on the "Bloch sphere," which represents the state of a qubit in the physics expert community. With the highest respect to Shibukawa who developed Japan's first indigenous calendar based on precise calculations, this system Shunkai has been named in the hope that Japan's first full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer will perform precise quantum computations. (Takafumi Tomita, Assistant Professor, Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences) Glossary (*1) Qubit: The basic unit of information in a quantum computer. Unlike conventional bits, which can only take on either "0" or "1," a quantum bit can simultaneously represent both "0" and "1" states through quantum mechanical "superposition." (*2) Quantum entanglement: A phenomenon unique to quantum mechanics where two or more particles (quanta) maintain a strong correlation with each other, even at distances, and the observation result of one instantly determines the state of the other. (*3) Optical tweezer: A technique that uses laser light to capture particles such as atoms or dielectric particles near the focal point. (*4) Quantum error correction: A technique for correcting calculation errors caused by the imperfection of manipulations and influence of the surrounding environment on quantum bits during the calculation process. Because quantum states are extremely fragile and easily broken, this technique is essential for quantum computers. SOURCE Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences NOTE: This content is not written by or endorsed by "WOWK", its advertisers, or Nexstar Media Inc.

IMS unveils Japan's first full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer "Shunkai," Now operational. Vom nachrichtendienst. 25 Aug, 2026, 07:00 GMT Artikel teilen. OKAZAKI, Japan, Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Institute for Molecular Science (hereinafter "IMS"), National Institutes of Natural Sciences, announced on August 24 that Japan's first full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer "Shunkai," developed by a research team led by Professor Kenji Ohmori, is now operational. Quantum computers are being developed in various modalities worldwide. However, there remain challenges to address for their practical applications, such as scalability and error correction during computation. Anticipated to overcome those challenges, neutral-atom quantum computing has been rapidly attracting attention from industry, academia and government worldwide as a groundbreaking new modality. Neutral-atom quantum computing uses a single atom as a qubit (*1) and has exceptional features, including: - Room-temperature operation without the need for a refrigerator. - Achieve quantum entanglement (*2) (the source of quantum speedup) between arbitrary qubits by moving the atoms (qubits) during computations. - Flexibly optimize qubit configuration for each algorithm. - Relatively easy to increase the number of qubits. - Long lifetime of quantum information in each qubit. At the IMS, Professor Ohmori is the project manager leading the neutral-atom quantum computing research and development team for the project "Large-scale and high-coherence fault-tolerant quantum computer with dynamical atom arrays" under the Cabinet Office/JST Moonshot Research and Development Program Goal 6, "Realization of a fault-tolerant universal quantum computer." Aiming at practical quantum computers, the team has developed Japan's first full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer named Shunkai (see Fig. 1). A "full-stack" system, as shown in Fig. 2, refers to a system that integrates multiple layers (stacks) necessary for converting user inputs into drive signals for the computing device to execute computational output as its result. Personal computers and supercomputers are examples of full-stack systems. Inside Shunkai, atomic qubits are captured in an array using "optical tweezers (*3)" generated by tightly focusing laser light with an objective lens. Quantum calculations are performed by irradiating the atoms with microwaves or laser light. The computational results are interpreted by observing the fluorescence from each individual atom with a camera. The IMS has taken the lead in developing this full-stack quantum computer, leveraging a strong industry-academia collaboration within the Ohmori Moonshot Project with Hitachi, Ltd. for the software stack and with Infleqtion, Inc. for the Quantum Processing Unit (QPU) stack. Shunkai will use approximately 50 qubits in its early stage, and will expand its scale to approximately 500 qubits. The system will be partially open to external users for the development of its applications and the demonstration and improvement of quantum error correction (*4). Plans also include collaboration with Yaqumo Inc., where Professor Ohmori serves as a founder and executive advisor, from the viewpoint of the social implementation and upgrade of the quantum computer. Future Developments In the second stage of the Ohmori Moonshot Project "Neutral atom-based fault-tolerant quantum computer" that just started in April 2026, the team will operate this full-stack quantum computer to further develop and improve the integration and control technologies, upgrade the system toward fault tolerance and larger scales, and enable high stability and high-fidelity quantum computation for extended periods of time. By March 2031, at the end of the second stage, the goal is to realize a large-scale, high-performance neutral-atom fault-tolerant quantum computer, with 10,000 physical qubits and quantum error detection and correction capabilities, available to external users. Message from Professor Kenji Ohmori, Institute for Molecular Science: "Neutral atom-based quantum computers have recently been rapidly attracting attention around the world as a new modality that could exceed the limits of the superconducting modality, which started its development earlier. I think it is extremely significant that now we have developed Japan's first full-stack quantum computer in this cutting-edge modality and started its operation. We expect that the external use of our full-stack machine Shunkai, for example, by the theory and software researchers for the development of error-correction technologies, and by the corporate researchers toward practical applications would lead to ripple effects on various fields in industry, academia and government around the world. It is also expected that Shunkai will be integrated with the existing shared supercomputer facility at the IMS to develop into a quantum-GPU hybrid computing center." About Shunkai It is named after Harumi Shibukawa, where his given name "Harumi" is also pronounced as Shunkai, an Edo-period (1603-1867) astronomer who established the first original calendar system in Japan. Calculations of celestial motion on the celestial sphere evoke the precise control of quantum states on the "Bloch sphere," which represents the state of a qubit in the physics expert community. With the highest respect to Shibukawa who developed Japan's first indigenous calendar based on precise calculations, this system Shunkai has been named in the hope that Japan's first full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer will perform precise quantum computations. (Takafumi Tomita, Assistant Professor, Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences) Glossary (*1) Qubit: The basic unit of information in a quantum computer. Unlike conventional bits, which can only take on either "0" or "1," a quantum bit can simultaneously represent both "0" and "1" states through quantum mechanical "superposition." (*2) Quantum entanglement: A phenomenon unique to quantum mechanics where two or more particles (quanta) maintain a strong correlation with each other, even at distances, and the observation result of one instantly determines the state of the other. (*3) Optical tweezer: A technique that uses laser light to capture particles such as atoms or dielectric particles near the focal point. (*4) Quantum error correction: A technique for correcting calculation errors caused by the imperfection of manipulations and influence of the surrounding environment on quantum bits during the calculation process. Because quantum states are extremely fragile and easily broken, this technique is essential for quantum computers.