A global tech corporation, Google, and SoftBank have joined forces to invest in quantum computing. The focus of both corporations is a new type of quantum computer known as "neutral atoms."
On the 13th, the American quantum computing startup "QuEra" announced that it raised $230 million (approximately 330 billion won) in investments from Google and the SoftBank Vision Fund. With this investment, QuEra's corporate valuation surpassed the unicorn threshold of $1 billion (approximately 1.45 trillion won). Sundar Pichai, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Google’s parent company Alphabet, emphasized regarding this investment that "useful quantum computers will be commercialized within 5 to 10 years."
Equally noteworthy is QuEra's quantum computing technology alongside the alliance between Google and SoftBank. Google is already developing superconducting-based quantum computers in-house. In contrast, QuEra is a corporation developing a quantum computer utilizing neutral atoms. This is why Google’s choice attracts attention.
QuEra is developing neutral atom-based quantum computers based on research from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It captures rubidium atoms using lasers and utilizes the principle of storing information by harnessing the energy states of electrons. When performing computations, specific atoms are stimulated by lasers to raise the energy levels of electrons, allowing them to conduct complex calculations through interactions with surrounding atoms.
Currently, quantum computing technology is dominated by superconducting qubits and ion trap methods. However, these two methods require ultra-low temperature cooling technology and have the drawback of difficulty in qubit expansion. In contrast, the neutral atom method is physically stable and can achieve high performance without large cooling systems.
Several corporations, in addition to QuEra, are currently developing quantum computers based on neutral atoms. These include Atom Computing, located in Berkeley, California, Infleqtion in Colorado, and Pasqal in France. They are developing quantum computers equipped with hundreds of qubits and aim to implement tens of thousands of qubits in the future.
◇Neutral atom method overcoming technological barriers, remaining challenges to commercialization
The neutral atom method has struggled for a long time to enhance the accuracy of interactions between qubits. However, since 2019, the technology has rapidly advanced, achieving a level of accuracy comparable to that of superconducting or ion trap methods.
In particular, quantum error correction technology has played a crucial role. Quantum states are extremely unstable, making errors likely. If qubits can interact stably with a probability greater than 99%, errors can be corrected using multiple qubits. Based on this, they succeeded in increasing the operational accuracy of neutral atom-based quantum computers to over 99% using faster laser pulses and powerful beams. Now, the neutral atom method can compete on equal footing with existing superconducting and ion trap methods.
Wenchao Xu, a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, noted, "In recent years, significant breakthroughs have been made, and expectations for the neutral atom method are growing in both academia and industry."
The neutral atom method has greater scalability than existing technologies. As atoms can be captured and moved en masse using lasers, increasing the number of qubits is relatively easy. The ability to arrange atoms in various ways presents a high possibility of implementing more efficient computational methods compared to existing systems with fixed qubits.
However, challenges still remain to be solved. There is the issue of atoms escaping from the laser trap, and the potential for computing speed to decrease due to the movement of atoms during calculations. Addressing these problems will likely be key for the neutral atom method to establish itself as an industrial mainstream.
Professor Wenchao Xu stated, "It is still uncertain whether the neutral atom method will ultimately become the winner in quantum computing, but it is currently developing at a rapid pace." QuEra’s co-founder, Mikhael Lukin, a professor at Harvard University, remarked, "The neutral atom method's quantum computer shows the potential to solve existing complex problems, and many are just beginning to realize that potential."
References
Nature (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-00451-2