Insider Brief
- JIJ Inc. appointed Steven Gibson as President of Americas and Andrew J. Ochoa as Principal Solution Architect to support its U.S. expansion and enterprise deployment strategy.
- Gibson will lead JIJ’s U.S. business development, partnerships and customer relationships after previously serving as Chief Commercial Officer at Strangeworks.
- Ochoa will lead technical solution design and delivery, bringing experience in quantum optimization, quantum-inspired methods, applied AI and enterprise projects across several industries.
PRESS RELEASE — JIJ Inc. today announced that Steven Gibson has joined the company as President of Americas to lead its U.S. expansion. Andrew J. Ochoa has also joined JIJ as Principal Solution Architect to scope, design, and lead delivery of JIJ’s hybrid quantum, AI, and advanced optimization solutions.
Gibson, former Chief Commercial Officer at Strangeworks, and Ochoa, former Chief Scientist at Strangeworks, bring complementary experience commercializing and deploying advanced computing technologies for complex industrial challenges, including quantum and quantum-inspired optimization, quantum machine learning, applied AI, and enterprise-scale technical delivery.
Their appointments mark a strategic step in JIJ’s global growth, strengthening both the commercial and technical capabilities needed to move its solutions from research and experimentation into enterprise deployment.
In his new role, Gibson will lead JIJ’s U.S. expansion, building the company’s business foundation in the United States and developing relationships with enterprise customers, public-sector stakeholders, hyperscaler partners, systems integrators, and advanced computing ecosystem partners. He will also support JIJ’s broader international expansion as the company scales its solutions across global markets.
Before joining JIJ, Gibson served as Chief Commercial Officer at Strangeworks, Inc., where he helped lead the company from pre-revenue stage to enterprise adoption across the United States, Europe, and Japan. During his six years there, he built a global partner ecosystem spanning more than 40 technology providers, including major quantum hardware companies, quantum-inspired solver providers, and leading cloud platforms.
Gibson’s career spans advanced computing, aerospace, fintech, and enterprise data science, giving him experience translating complex technologies into commercial adoption. Earlier in his career, he contributed to aerospace and space systems programs at EADS Astrium and Airbus, helped build Honest Dollar through its acquisition by Goldman Sachs, and later served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Valkyrie Intelligence. His relationships across Japan’s technology and research ecosystem add a cross-market perspective as JIJ expands its U.S. presence.
As Principal Solution Architect, Ochoa will scope, design, and lead end-to-end delivery of JIJ’s solutions. He brings deep applied expertise across quantum optimization, quantum-inspired methods, classical optimization, quantum machine learning, and applied AI, with a track record of translating complex customer challenges into deployable technical solutions.
Ochoa also joins JIJ from Strangeworks, where he served as Chief Scientist and led technical customer projects across industries including energy, life sciences, finance, manufacturing, logistics, and defense. His work has included applied optimization and advanced computing projects across seismic imaging, pharmaceutical quality analytics, portfolio optimization, renewable energy, drug discovery, defense applications, and marketing optimization.
“Our U.S. expansion is an important step in bringing JIJ’s quantum and optimization technology to customers working on increasingly complex operational and computational challenges,” said Yu Yamashiro, CEO of JIJ. “With Steven and Andrew joining, we are strengthening both the commercial and technical foundations needed to move from experimentation to deployed systems that create measurable value for enterprise and public-sector customers.”
“Most companies think quantum is a five-year problem. The real value is on the table today through quantum-inspired and hybrid optimization, and JIJ delivers it now,” said Steven Gibson. “Japan is where operations became a science, from lean manufacturing to just-in-time logistics, and JIJ turned that discipline into software. I joined to bring that rigor to U.S. enterprises and public-sector organizations that want measurable results, not hype.”
“Successful customers aren’t waiting for quantum to be perfect. They’re building now, with the best tools available and position to scale,” said Andrew Ochoa. “Steve and I have done exactly that kind of work together, and JIJ gives us the tools to do it better. My focus is earning that first deployment, delivering something that works, and building the trust that earns the next one.”
