Major Partnership Aims for 1 Million Optical Qubits by 2030
Japanese telecom giant NTT and quantum computing startup OptQC have recently entered into a collaboration agreement focused on advancing the development of optical qubit-based quantum computers. Their shared objective is to realize a scalable quantum system with 1 million optical qubits by the year 2030. This partnership, announced in 2024, represents one of the most ambitious efforts to date aimed at significantly increasing qubit counts using photonic technology.
Optical Qubits: A Scalable Path for Quantum Computing
Optical qubits use photons—particles of light—to represent quantum information. Unlike traditional qubits based on superconducting circuits or trapped ions, optical qubits operate at room temperature and can leverage existing fiber-optic communication infrastructure. This approach offers advantages in terms of speed, connectivity, and potentially reduced error rates, making it a promising candidate for scaling quantum processors to unprecedented sizes. Their inherent compatibility with optical networks could facilitate the construction of large-scale quantum systems distributed over long distances.
Strategic Impact on Quantum’s Future
The NTT-OptQC collaboration underscores a strategic shift towards photonic quantum computing as a plausible route to overcome current hardware limitations. Achieving a million optical qubits would mark a transformative milestone, enabling more complex quantum algorithms and practical applications in fields such as cryptography, materials science, and optimization problems. For investors and researchers, this agreement signals growing confidence in optical quantum technologies and may accelerate funding and development efforts across the quantum ecosystem. While challenges remain—such as error correction and qubit integration—the partnership sets a clear, measurable target that encourages innovation and benchmark progress over the next decade.
In summary, the alliance between NTT and OptQC holds meaningful implications for the evolution of quantum computing hardware. By targeting an ambitious scale of optical qubits by 2030, these organizations aim to push the boundaries of quantum capability and expand the possibilities for future quantum applications.
