Insider Brief
- NEC has halted development of quantum computer hardware after determining that commercialization would take too long to produce an adequate return on investment.
- The company will continue developing quantum annealing, quantum-inspired computing and related services using conventional computer systems.
- The decision ends a hardware effort that included the world’s first demonstration of a superconducting solid-state qubit in 1999 and an eight-qubit annealing prototype unveiled in 2023.
- Image: NEC
NEC has ended its effort to build a working quantum computer, pulling back from a field that the company helped pioneer.
The company discontinued development of a physical quantum computing system at the end of March, Nikkei Asia reported. NEC apparently concluded that bringing the technology to market would take too long to produce an adequate return on its investment.
NEC will continue working on related technologies and services, including quantum annealing — which is an approach designed to find efficient answers to problems involving a large number of possible combinations, such as optimizing delivery routes, production schedules or investment portfolios.
The company also plans to expand services that use conventional computers to imitate some of the problem-solving methods associated with quantum machines. These so-called quantum-inspired systems do not require quantum hardware and can be deployed using existing computing infrastructure.
A Long Record in Quantum Research
NEC’s played an early role in superconducting quantum computing. In 1999, NEC researchers became the first to demonstrate the operation of a superconducting solid-state qubit, the basic unit of information used in many quantum computers.
NEC had pursued quantum annealing hardware alongside Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. In 2023, NEC and Tohoku University began joint research using an eight-qubit annealing machine developed by NEC and the institute.
The system used superconducting technology and an architecture developed by Austria-based ParityQC. NEC said at the time that the design was intended to reduce sensitivity to noise and support connections among qubits as the machine grew.
The prototype was described as Japan’s first domestically produced quantum annealing machine that outside researchers could access through the internet. Tohoku University and NEC planned to study how the hardware could work alongside a vector supercomputer and a quantum-inspired annealing system.
The eight-qubit machine remained an early research device rather than a commercially useful computer. Practical systems would require far more qubits as well as advances in control, reliability and manufacturing.
NEC’s withdrawal narrows the group of large Japanese companies and multinationals developing quantum computing hardware.
Fujitsu, for example, continues to expand its hardware research. In August, the company announced a partnership with Monash University and Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, covering quantum research, education and efforts to turn the technology into commercial applications.
International competition is intensifying with several U.S. technology companies, for example, investing heavily in superconducting quantum systems, while China is supporting development through government programs and private companies.
