A Comprehensive Portfolio Of Innovation

Fujitsu is embracing an all-in strategy in quantum computing — investing across a broad portfolio that includes superconducting and diamond spin qubits, open-source software development, quantum simulation, and a hybrid quantum-classical computing architecture. While most vendors focus on one or two of these elements, Fujitsu is working across all of them in its quest for a place on the world stage.

At its recent quantum computing conference in Kawasaki, Japan, Fujitsu highlighted these efforts with a mix of strategy sessions and technical briefings from its experts and partners. It showcased a 64-qubit superconducting machine, a 40-qubit simulator based on Fugaku supercomputer technology, and simulator-driven hybrid workflows that Fujitsu claims can accelerate development by up to 200x. The company’s open-source quantum toolchain and the Quantum Simulator Challenge, which drew 36 participants from 14 countries, underscore growing global engagement with its platform.

This full-stack focus signals that Fujitsu sees quantum not as a narrow race for qubit counts but as a systems engineering challenge that spans hardware, software, and algorithms. We see few other vendors taking such a comprehensive approach.

The Longer-Term Roadmap Is Not Quite Clear Yet

Fujitsu’s strategy favors long-term R&D over near-term commercialization. Its 64-qubit superconducting processor, developed with RIKEN, is a credible step forward, and at the conference, it announced that a 256-qubit processor will be released this summer. This will put Fujitsu on par with IBM and Google in terms of qubit count. Many of the conference presentations were dedicated to innovations in error mitigation, correction, and scaling. We have seen other vendors walk this path before — and it is a hard one.

Fujitsu’s plan for a 1,000+ physical qubit system supporting up to 64 logical qubits through error correction is ambitious, but the path and timing were not made clear. That effort may uncover new challenges with scale that require a modular approach similar to IBM’s attempt at Condor. This will take time.

Similarly, Fujitsu’s diamond spin qubit work with QuTech shows promise, especially with reported gate fidelities exceeding 99.9%, yet significant questions remain about the scalability, manufacturability, and system integration of this newer qubit type.

While Fujitsu’s effort, ambition, and strategic patience are commendable, clarity on its path to scale will be an important signal for the market in the year ahead.

Fujitsu’s Momentum Is Increasing

Where Fujitsu is gaining ground is in ecosystem building. Its global research collaborations span top institutions, including Osaka University, Delft University of Technology, QuTech, RIKEN, and the Australian National University. These partnerships support joint innovation across the Asia Pacific and European regions. Notably missing were any US partnerships, a gap we hope to see filled.

The company’s hybrid platform, combining real hardware and simulation with a coming-soon workload broker, offers a bridge to experimentation before fully fault-tolerant systems arrive. The simulator challenge and open-source tooling are drawing interest and encouraging developers to build on Fujitsu’s stack. One session from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center highlighted breakthroughs in classical simulation of larger quantum circuits, a development that could help accelerate qubit engineering.

Conclusion: Resetting Expectations In The “Early FTQC” Era

One of the most telling messages from the conference was Fujitsu’s introduction of a new phase: the “early fault-tolerant quantum computing (FTQC)” era. This term refers to quantum systems with tens of thousands of physical qubits — not yet fully fault-tolerant but potentially capable of demonstrating practical quantum advantage.

This reframing stands in contrast to the original NISQ vision articulated by John Preskill, which suggested that noisy systems in the hundreds-to-thousand qubit range might deliver early value. With none of today’s NISQ systems achieving such advantage, the industry appears to be moving the goalposts. Fujitsu’s early FTQC label and many of the technical presentations illustrate clearly that useful quantum computing requires far more scale — and far better error rates — than originally hoped.

Does this reset invalidate the dream of quantum advantage? Not necessarily. But it highlights the hard truth: Quantum will evolve in cycles of breakthrough and recalibration. For enterprises, this is a long-term, research-intensive journey — not the kind of explosive growth we’ve seen with generative AI. Several industry guests on the closing panel acknowledged this practical point of view.

What To Watch

For tech leaders tracking quantum innovation, watch for these milestones from Fujitsu:

  • Its roadmap for a 1,000+ physical qubit system, including plans to create logical qubits via error correction
  • Scaling of its diamond spin qubit architecture beyond lab fidelity into multiqubit systems
  • New indicators of value emerging from simulation and hybrid experimentation, especially in the early FTQC regime with ~50,000 physical qubits

Want more perspective on the current state of quantum computing? Read Forrester’s The State Of Quantum Computing, 2024, for vendor insights, architecture trends, and realistic adoption timelines.