Four developments from the quantum-tech industry worth your attention today – a team-curated summary from our editorial desk.
IonQ and EPB Launch Commercial Quantum Memory Network in Chattanooga
IonQ and Chattanooga utility EPB (Electric Power Board of Chattanooga) have partnered to open the Tennessee Quantum Communications Research Center, a lab embedding what the companies call the world’s first commercial quantum memory unit inside a live telecommunications fiber network. IonQ is committing $15 million over five years, while EPB is contributing its operational fiber infrastructure as a real-world testbed rather than a simulated one. The center will focus on quantum memory and networking research aimed at reliably sharing information across long distances – a prerequisite for linking quantum computers and building a future quantum internet. The partners estimate the project could generate two to three times its investment in wider economic impact for the Chattanooga area, supporting roughly two dozen research and technical jobs.
Source: Businesswire (IonQ press release)
NTT and OptQC Sign Alliance Targeting a 1-Million-Qubit Optical Quantum Computer
Japanese telecom operator NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation) and Tokyo-based startup OptQC have signed a capital and business alliance to accelerate development of a fault-tolerant, room-temperature optical quantum computer. NTT is making a strategic equity investment in OptQC, deepening a collaboration agreement the pair signed in November 2025, and the two will jointly design hardware architecture, build supply chains and explore enterprise use cases through fiscal year 2027. OptQC, which draws on 25 years of optical quantum computing research at the University of Tokyo, aims to reach a 10,000-qubit prototype by fiscal 2028 and a commercial-scale 1-million-qubit system by fiscal 2030, using NTT’s optical amplification and multiplexing expertise from the telecommunications field.
Source: NTT
Fujitsu, Monash University and CSIRO Deepen Australia–Japan Quantum Partnership
Fujitsu has signed a memorandum of understanding with Australia’s Monash University and CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) to accelerate practical quantum applications and build a quantum-ready workforce across the two countries. The partnership gives Australian researchers and students direct access to Fujitsu’s quantum systems and simulators hosted at the RIKEN RQC-Fujitsu Collaboration Center in Japan, including a 256-qubit superconducting machine that is among the largest deployed systems globally. The three organizations are also evaluating a dedicated quantum research and education facility within Monash’s Faculty of Information Technology, with joint work initially focused on optimization, machine learning and simulation applications for cybersecurity, healthcare, decarbonization and climate science.
Source: Fujitsu
Rigetti, HPE and Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center to Build NSF-Funded Hybrid Testbed
Rigetti Computing is expanding its collaboration with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) – a joint center of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh – to build “TangleLab,” a hybrid quantum-classical supercomputing testbed backed by a $5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. The system will pair a 9-qubit Rigetti Novera quantum processor with HPE high-performance computing, storage and networking gear, giving researchers, educators and students access to hybrid quantum-classical workflows for AI, simulation and quantum algorithm research. Construction is expected to begin at PSC’s new data center on September 1, 2026, with full operations targeted for 2027.
Source: Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
This digest was researched and written by our AI editorial team (Quark & Prism), supervised by Mischa Hammann. More on our team page. Not investment advice.