Qubitcore Inc., a startup based in Yokohama, Japan, has completed a pre-seed funding round, with the OIST Lifetime Ventures Fund (general partner: Lifetime Ventures LLC) as the lead investor. Qubitcore is a spin-out from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), having secured an exclusive license agreement effective June 1, 2025, for foundational intellectual property from OIST’s Experimental Quantum Information Physics Unit. The company’s core mission is to realize a distributed quantum computing system, aiming for a fault-tolerant universal quantum computer (FTQC).
Qubitcore’s proprietary technology is a distributed quantum computing architecture that combines ion trap technology with integrated optical cavities and a photonic interconnect network. This architecture is designed to overcome scalability limitations inherent in conventional Quantum Processing Units (QPUs) by enabling high-speed, high-fidelity remote entanglement between multiple modules. This approach aims to achieve large-scale operation that has been challenging with conventional ion trap methods, moving towards the construction of a practical FTQC.
Qubitcore has outlined a roadmap for its distributed quantum computing system: a first-generation testbed system for experimental quantum error correction in 2028, a second-generation prototype in 2029 showcasing photonic interconnects between modules and suggesting architectural potential for future expansion toward 1,000-qubit-class systems, and targeted commercial-grade deployment by 2030. The company’s technology is based on research from OIST’s Hiroki Takahashi Unit, which also contributes to Japan’s Moonshot Research and Development Program (Goal 6) for fault-tolerant universal quantum computers.
The pre-seed funding will accelerate Qubitcore’s early-stage hardware system development. This includes the procurement of experimental equipment, prototyping of ion-trap modules with integrated optical cavities, recruitment of research personnel, experimental validation of photonic links for distributed quantum computing, and research aimed at implementing highly efficient quantum error correction. The company also plans to initiate early-stage development of a control platform for future quantum computing services, aligning with efforts to combine equity financing with non-dilutive public grants.
Read the full announcement from OIST here, from PR Times here, and from EIN Presswire here.
July 16, 2025
