Japan's Shunkai neutral-atom quantum computer begins operation

The Institute for Molecular Science has begun operating Shunkai, a neutral-atom quantum computer in Japan, Kikoku Note reports. Its initial stage is planned for about 50 qubits, with expansion to about 500 and a goal of 10,000 physical qubits by March 2031. Shunkai uses focused lasers to hold and move individual atoms, then reads their states through emitted light. The institute plans to open part of the system to outside researchers for applications and work on correcting calculation errors. A proposed link to shared supercomputing and GPU facilities remains a concept.