Israel Opens Tender for a Sovereign Quantum Computer

Israel has opened a tender for a homegrown quantum computer, its first concrete move under a national strategy built around technological sovereignty. Called Project Nexus, the tender asks industry to build a “Blue and White” quantum platform, locally produced and able to run the country’s various quantum approaches.

Big statement, few specifics

According to the August 4 report, Project Nexus is a procurement launch issued by the Prime Minister’s Office National AI Directorate and the Finance Ministry under Government Decision 4255, the framework for Israel’s national AI strategy.

It arrived bundled with two AI requests for information, one for a Physical AI testing ground and one for sovereign foundation models, which puts the quantum piece inside a wider computing-sovereignty push, the kind the US has been making too.

The stated aim is simple and direct: guarantee that Israel has a locally produced quantum computer and holds its place as a global leader. Smadar Itzkovich, who runs the AI & Quantum Sovereignty Lab, gave the Times of Israel a level-headed take.

“I think this is a smart and bold move by the government, launching a tender like this for a technology that’s still emerging takes courage. It places Israel alongside Japan and the UK, which made similar moves this year.”

The sovereignty play

Israel is keeping the platform technology-agnostic, meant to serve the universities and startups already working on quantum there, an approach that echoes its earlier plan for a national facility that backs no single technology. The country has an active quantum sector to draw on, with firms like Quantum Art and Classiq weighing public listings.

The move also slots into a global race. Countries including the United States and China have poured billions into national quantum programs to cut dependence on foreign technology, the same logic behind Japan’s push to wire its quantum sector to allies. Time will tell whether Israel’s tender turns into a machine, and on whose technology, and the funding now chasing the sector suggests the competition it’s entering. As it stands, the announcement is a statement of intent, with the hard specifics still to come.