Quantinuum and RIKEN Upgrade Japan's Reimei Quantum Computer to H2

Quantinuum (NASDAQ: QNT) and RIKEN announced an expanded partnership out of Tokyo to push quantum-AI hybrid supercomputing in Japan. The hook: Reimei, Quantinuum's trapped-ion quantum computer installed at RIKEN, has completed its upgrade to System Model H2.

Reimei runs inside the JHPC-quantum project, funded by NEDO, and the upgrade sharpens the project's quantum-HPC hybrid platform. According to the partners, researchers can now probe more complex quantum systems that classical computing alone struggles to simulate. The pair will point the upgraded rig at use cases across electronics, energy and life sciences.

RIKEN's Dr. Mitsuhisa Sato, division director of the Quantum-HPC Hybrid Platform Division at R-CCS, said the H2 machine lets his teams tackle bigger scientific problems than the previous H1 system allowed. He added that a newly signed Memorandum of Understanding opens the door to quantum computing for AI for Science, an initiative RIKEN is pushing.

Quantinuum CEO Dr. Rajeeb Hazra framed the move as both near-term and long-haul: better capabilities now, plus a commitment to what comes next. The partners plan a fault-tolerant national accelerator, codenamed the development of a system built with Japanese universities and domestic components suppliers. That work leans on lessons from integrating and operating Reimei at RIKEN.

A separate agreement pulls in SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434). Quantinuum, RIKEN and SoftBank will explore linking quantum computers directly to AI data centers in Japan, checking infrastructure readiness and mapping how connected systems could serve commercial quantum-AI hybrid services beyond the research crowd. SoftBank's Takenori Kobayashi, vice president and head of its Product Research & Development Division, said the goal is turning project results into industrial value through a Quantum AI Datacenter.

The research also lines up with U.S.-Japan efforts on AI-driven discovery, including a planned $1 billion partnership under the U.S. Genesis Mission. NEDO backs the underlying work under METI's program for quantum-supercomputer hybrid platforms, part of the post-5G infrastructure push (JPNP20017).