Fujitsu, Yaqumo Begin Testing STAR on Neutral-Atom Hardware
Fujitsu and Japanese startup Yaqumo have announced they are running Fujitsu’s quantum architecture and software on Yaqumo’s neutral-atom machines. Theoretical work began in April 2026, with testing on an actual device commencing in August, as detailed in their joint announcement. This is early-stage joint research and doesn’t represent a product or a functional fault-tolerant computer.
What the two companies are testing
Specifically, Fujitsu contributes two key elements to this collaboration. The first is its STAR architecture (Space-Time efficient Analog Rotation), primarily developed for superconducting qubits. Fujitsu states that STAR reduces the number of qubits required for phase-rotation gates. The second is an open-source software suite, Open Quantum Toolchain for Operators and Users, available on GitHub, which manages the setup and operation of quantum cloud services.
Yaqumo provides the hardware. This startup, with 1 to 10 employees, specializes in building quantum computers using ytterbium neutral atoms. Their stated goal is to develop a system with several hundred qubits and error-correction capabilities by fiscal year 2027.
The companies suggest that neutral-atom systems facilitate all-to-all connectivity between qubits, which could aid error correction. The central question remains whether STAR can effectively reduce qubit counts on this hardware. Fujitsu notes that compatibility “cannot be confirmed through theoretical studies alone,” hence the need for hardware testing.
Claims versus demonstrations
The current work focuses on verification as opposed to deployment. STAR was designed for a different modality, and the purpose of this exercise is to assess its transferability. The stated aim is to allow external users to access Yaqumo’s hardware via the cloud, though command conversion, job management, and calibration functions still need adaptation for the neutral-atom control system.
Yaqumo CEO Kazuhiro Nakashoji emphasized Fujitsu’s existing infrastructure in framing the collaboration.
“We believe that Fujitsu’s expertise in architecture design and cloud infrastructure, accumulated through its work on superconducting and diamond spin quantum computing, will strongly support our research and development of neutral-atom quantum computers.”
Fujitsu is diversifying its quantum efforts, and it’s previously worked on superconducting and diamond-spin systems before this neutral-atom partnership. The wider industry exhibits a similar trend, with companies like IonQ pursuing vertical integration through acquisitions. No performance figures, benchmarks, or results from the August tests have come out. The next anticipated development is data.