Shanghai Startup Shows a Rack-Mounted Quantum Computer at WAIC

A Shanghai startup has shown a neutral-atom quantum computer built to fit inside a standard data center rack, according to reporting by the Chinese tech outlet Pandaily. Zhongqi Wuliang unveiled the machine, called Qinghe-1, at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference. The details here are secondhand, drawn from that coverage rather than from the company directly.

Why Qinghe-1 fits data centers

Most quantum computers live in specialized rooms, needing near-absolute-zero refrigerators or large laser and vibration-isolation setups. Zhongqi Wuliang’s claim, per the Pandaily report, is that it has packaged its processor into a server form factor that could slot into existing data centers as a modular unit. That fits a wider industry push, also visible at European and U.S. companies, to make quantum hardware installable in ordinary infrastructure as opposed to purpose-built labs.

The company uses neutral-atom technology, which stores quantum information in individual atoms held in place by laser light. One claimed advantage is for error correction: because every atom is identical, the design avoids the manufacturing variation that affects solid-state qubits. Zhongqi Wuliang was founded in 2025 out of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics.

What remains unknown about Qinghe-1

Still, there’s no verification of any qubit count, specifications, benchmark data, or performance targets. The claim of being the first quantum computer in a standard server form factor is the company’s own, notable because several other firms are making similar rack-mount, data-center-ready pitches.

Pandaily reported the company aims to support meaningful commercial workloads within five years, though it gave no technical milestones. For now this is a conference debut, not a demonstrated system.