QuEra Quantum Computing
Neutral Atoms Are Used in the QuEra Quantum System to Compute
As the long-awaited era of practical quantum computing draws near, industry attention is turning from “if” to “when” such potent systems will be widely used. Building a quantum computer is now inevitable due to the tremendous advancements in quantum technology over the last five to ten years, and the timeframe for real-world applications is shortening, according to Yuval Boger, Chief Commercial Officer of QuEra Computing.
“There are moments when it’s difficult to appreciate all of the incredible advancements that have been made,” Boger said to The Next Platform. However, five or 10 years ago, the issue was, ‘Could you really build a quantum computer, any quantum computer?’… It should be obvious by now. People believe that you are capable of creating a quantum computer.
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An Overflow of Development and Investment
This sentiment is supported by recent high-profile statements from significant tech businesses. Amazon Web Services, Google, and Microsoft have all introduced improved or new quantum chips that solve crucial error correction features. For example, Microsoft boldly stated that its new Majorana 1 quantum chip means that trustworthy, fault-tolerant quantum computers will be available in years rather than decades.
Following consecutive releases of its Nighthawk processor from 2025 through 2028, IBM reiterated this urgency in late May when it announced plans for its fault-tolerant Quantum Starling system by 2029. This system is intended to perform quantum circuits with 100 million quantum gates on 200 logical qubits. In addition to offering its annealing Advantage quantum devices through its Leap cloud platform, D-Wave recently launched its first on-premises computer and revealed an ambitious vision in March 2025.
Significant investment is being drawn to this expedited innovation. Investments in quantum technology surpassed $1.25 billion in the first quarter of 2025 alone, more than doubling the amount raised the year before. With QuEra, Quantinuum, and Quantum Machines taking part in Nvidia’s new quantum research centre in Boston, IT behemoths like Nvidia are aggressively entering the market.
A significant benefit has been QuEra, which raised $47 million in October 2024 and secured a $230 million fundraising round in February 2025 that included Google and SoftBank Vision Fund 2. This funding will be used to develop its fault-tolerant technology, hire more scientists and engineers, and strengthen its alliances with government organisations, Fortune 500 businesses, and research institutes.
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Travelling with Quantum Systems
The recent installation of QuEra’s first quantum systems outside of its own labs was a major milestone. Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) received the company’s gate-based neutral-atom Gemini quantum computer late last month. The machine was supplied to Japan’s new G-QuAT quantum-AI research centre, where it runs alongside the Nvidia-powered ABCI-Q supercomputer, under a $41 million contract that was awarded a year earlier. QuEra supplied a gate-based neutral-atom quantum system to the National Quantum Computing Centre at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, England, around the same time.
The hybrid classical-quantum environment is a key operational paradigm that is highlighted by these deployments. Boger highlights that rather than taking the place of conventional CPUs and GPUs, quantum computers are probably going to work in tandem with them. “There is a widespread misperception that quantum computers will simply replace or displace conventional CPUs or GPUs,” Boger clarified. I don’t believe that to be true. The datacenter will just have one more processing unit, or PU. Certain things will work well for CPUs, while others will work best for GPUs and QPUs.
Making Use of Neutral Atom Modality
Neutral atoms are at the heart of QuEra’s core technology, which has clear advantages over alternative strategies like superconducting or trapped-ion qubits. For interference-free ‘optical tweezers’, precision laser beams keep neutral atoms in place in a vacuum. Instead of cryogenic cooling, QuEra’s devices fit into 19-inch racks and utilise 20 kilowatts of electricity at ambient temperature.
Boger emphasises atoms’ purity and scalability, saying they appear abundant and perfect. The fact that they are exactly alike makes them ideal. There are no manufacturing flaws, even if it has a million atoms. Large-scale qubit arrays are physically compact because atoms are so tiny, usually only a few microns, and can be assembled with only four microns separating them. Boger observes that this inherent scalability is becoming an engineering problem rather than a scientific one.
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From Concept to Practice: The Upcoming Stages
It is clear how theoretical knowledge leads to real-world application. Harvard, QuEra, MIT, NIST, and the University of Maryland collaborated to show in 2023 that it was possible to develop qubits that could identify and fix faults. Additionally, the next challenge is being overcome: creating quantum systems with a sufficient number of useable qubits.
In the next two or three years, according to Boger, quantum computers will be “truly useful” for resolving business issues that have a monetary value. It is anticipated that the first uses will be in areas such as material science, chemistry, and medicine. This widely held notion is supported by the industry’s rapid investment, which exceeded $1.25 billion in the first quarter of 2025. The substantial sums of money and the serious companies involved indicate real potential, according to Boger. Consider Amazon, IBM, Google, and Microsoft when valuing public companies in quantum.
Based on programmable arrays of neutral Rubidium atoms, QuEra’s 256-qubit Aquila quantum technology has been available over the AWS cloud for 130 hours every week since 2022. Aquila is an analogue system, whereas Gemini is digital; its recent installation in Japan represents a generational shift. Boger compares this to the distinction between a CD and vinyl for audio, which have the same purpose but completely different recording and playback techniques. More qubits, reduced error rates, better logical qubits, increased external connectivity, and improved interfaces with traditional CPUs and GPUs are all expected to be features of future generations of QuEra’s systems, which will be backed by ever-more-advanced software infrastructure.
With businesses like QuEra leading the way in developing solutions that will integrate into current computing infrastructures to address issues that were previously unachievable, the route to mainstream quantum utility is becoming more apparent.
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