SoftBank Corp. and Quantinuum Announce Groundbreaking Partnership Toward Practical Application of Quantum Computing

Partnership to drive commercial value through practical go-to-market use cases and develop business model for a quantum data center

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January 28, 2025

Source: SoftBank Corp.

Tokyo, Japan and Broomfield, Colorado, January 29th, 2025 — SoftBank Corp. ("SoftBank") and Quantinuum ("Quantinuum") announced they agreed to a wide-ranging partnership in quantum computing. 

By combining their respective strengths, both companies will unlock innovative quantum computing solutions that will overcome the limitations of classical artificial intelligence (AI) and realize next-generation technologies. 

This unique initiative coincides with the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) in 2025, and it is expected to ignite new business opportunities through the dynamic fusion of AI and quantum computing.

The Necessity of Quantum Computing Beyond the Limits of AI

In this modern era, AI is delivering impressive results across various domains. However, it is widely recognized that there are still significant challenges that AI alone is struggling to overcome. Complex optimization problems, deciphering causal relationship analysis, and conducting high-precision simulations based on fundamental equations remain formidable obstacles for current AI technologies.

Moreover, the hybrid approach that combines Central Processing Units (CPUs), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), and Quantum Processing Units (QPUs) holds the potential to further extend the capabilities of AI. By leveraging the unique strengths of each type of processing unit, hybrid systems can execute more advanced and diverse computations, providing innovative solutions that surpass traditional limitations.

SoftBank and Quantinuum believe in the power of quantum computing and are committed to exploring its transformative potential.

Current State and Challenges of Quantum Computing

Despite impressive growth in the quantum computing sector, several technical and business challenges need to be addressed to advance the state-of-the-art so that quantum computers are used to solve practical problems.

(1) Building a Business Model

  • Initial Investment and Operational Costs: The substantial initial investment and operational costs required for the development and deployment of quantum computers lack concrete cost recovery strategies, which in turn suppresses the drive for companies to develop and adopt the technology.
  • Clarification of Revenue Models: The business models for generating revenue, including the methods of offering quantum computers and setting usage fees, have not yet been fully realized.

(2) Establishing Specific Use Cases

  • Discovering Use Cases: There is a shortage of use cases that clearly demonstrate which fields quantum computers will be useful in. Understanding the market size and revenue models through clear examples, especially in areas such as quantum chemical calculations and machine learning, is necessary.
  • Understanding the Market and Revenue Predictions: It is crucial to specifically identify the areas where computations can only be performed by quantum computers and are commercially viable, as well as to predict the timing and scale of these applications.

(3) Advancing Hardware and Software Technologies

  • Limitations and Challenges of Hardware: The current hardware performance (number of qubits and operation precision) of quantum computers is inadequate for handling practical problems, and significant enhancements in performance are needed for practical use.
  • Software Development and Error Mitigation: The development of hybrid algorithms that combine traditional methods, as well as advancements in error suppression, mitigation, and correction technologies, are essential to enable practical computations. Furthermore, developing technologies that mutually complement hardware and software are also indispensable.
  • Timing for Service Provision: Making decisions based on a deep understanding of technology to provide services at the optimal timing requires assessing the speed of technological advancements and market needs.
Key Activities

SoftBank and Quantinuum are committed to addressing these challenges together to advance the practical application of quantum computers.

(1) Joint Market Research & Business Model Development for Quantum Data Center

  • With a view toward the realization of a "quantum data center" capable of performing advanced calculation processing by combining CPUs, GPUs and quantum computers (QPUs), both companies will use the Japanese market as a foothold to conduct global market research in the Asia-Pacific region and other regions, and explore specific business models based on that research.
  • Both companies will jointly consider methods to reduce investment risks, such as revenue sharing and cost sharing.

(2) Construction of Quantum Use-Case Timelines and Validation

  • SoftBank will provide its own business challenges as use cases.
  • Both companies will clarify use cases in quantum chemistry and network analysis, and construct a timeline showing when these use cases will be realized. In quantum chemistry, the search for new optical switch materials for All Optical Networks is anticipated, while in network analysis, the application to anomaly detection and fraud detection in SoftBank's communication network is envisioned.
  • Both companies will develop software technology that makes effective use of limited hardware resources, and explore methods for linking CPUs, GPUs, and QPUs.
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Comments from each company

Ryuji Wakikawa, Head of Research Institute of Advanced Technology, SoftBank Corp., commented: “SoftBank believes in the potential of quantum computers and has been testing and evaluating various internal issues using quantum computers, and has started to obtain certain results. However, as a telecommunications operator, there are still many challenges remaining regarding how to provide quantum computing services in Japan. Through our collaboration with Quantinuum, which possesses the world's highest-performance quantum computer hardware, we aim to be the first in the world to identify problems that can only be solved by quantum computers and look forward to significantly accelerating the practical application of quantum computing.”

Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, President and CEO of Quantinuum, commented: "Our partnership with SoftBank represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of quantum computing. By combining our strengths, we are poised to unlock innovative solutions that will not only enhance the capabilities of AI but also tackle challenges that have long been beyond reach. Together, we are laying the groundwork for a future where quantum technologies drive transformative advancements across multiple industries."

By integrating quantum computing with AI, this initiative is expected to contribute to problem-solving in diverse fields such as healthcare, finance, logistics, and energy. This collaboration not only addresses unsolved challenges but also creates new market opportunities and fosters technological innovation across society.

About SoftBank Corp.

Guided by the SoftBank Group’s corporate philosophy, “Information Revolution – Happiness for everyone,” SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) operates telecommunications and IT businesses in Japan and globally. Building on its strong business foundation, SoftBank Corp. is expanding into non-telecom fields in line with its “Beyond Carrier” growth strategy while further growing its telecom business by harnessing the power of 5G/6G, IoT, Digital Twin and Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) solutions, including High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS)-based stratospheric telecommunications. While constructing AI data centers and developing homegrown LLMs specialized for the Japanese language with one trillion parameters, SoftBank is applying AI to enhance radio access network performance (AI-RAN) with the aim of becoming a provider of next-generation social infrastructure. 

To learn more, please visit https://www.softbank.jp/en/. 

About Quantinuum

Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum computing company, pioneers powerful quantum computers and advanced software solutions. Quantinuum’s technology drives breakthroughs in materials discovery, cybersecurity, and next-gen quantum AI. With around 600 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents.

For more information, please visit the website at www.quantinuum.com. 

  • SoftBank, the SoftBank name and logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of SoftBank Group Corp. in Japan and other countries.
  • Other company, product and service names in this press release are registered trademarks or trademarks of the respective companies.
About Quantinuum

Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum company, pioneers powerful quantum computers and advanced software solutions. Quantinuum’s technology drives breakthroughs in materials discovery, cybersecurity, and next-gen quantum AI. With over 500 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents. 

October 19, 2026
Quantinuum Breaks Error-Correction World Record by 10x, Validating its Leading Path to Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing by 2029
  • Quantinuum’s Helios computer achieves a world-record 99.9995% logical fidelity—just five errors in a million operations—using the company’s error-correction architecture.
  • Error rate is 10x lower than Quantinuum’s own September 2026 record and 100x lower than the best published result across all other hardware modalities, which was reported by Google Quantum AI using a superconducting system.
  • Quantinuum’s successive breakthroughs used different codes on the same hardware, demonstrating how its error-correction architecture and trapped-ion technology drive rapid gains in accuracy, with performance now in the target range for Apollo.

BROOMFIELD, Colo.—October 19, 2026—Quantinuum (NASDAQ: QNT), a leading full-stack quantum computing company, today announced a world-record quantum error-correction result, achieving a logical fidelity of 99.9995% on its Helios commercial computer using the company’s error-correction architecture. This marks Quantinuum’s second breakthrough in two months, demonstrating how its highly accurate trapped-ion hardware and flexible architecture work together to deliver rapid improvements in accuracy.

The achievement reinforces Quantinuum’s error-correction leadership and validates that its accuracy performance is now within the target range for Apollo, the company's planned universal fault-tolerant quantum computer expected to be available by 2029.

Quantinuum’s architecture is an end-to-end framework programmable through the company’s developer platform. It integrates tailored AI decoders, all-to-all qubit connectivity, high-fidelity physical operations, and hardware-level error correction. This architecture also allows the company to test, refine, and combine different error-correction codes and optimize between accuracy and efficiency.

In the latest study, Quantinuum used a well-known “color code” within this architecture to achieve the world-record logical fidelity result, which is equivalent to just five errors per million operations. The error rate is 10 times lower than Quantinuum’s own world record achieved last month and 100 times lower than the best published result across all other hardware modalities, which was reported by Google Quantum AI on a superconducting system.

“With this result, we’ve proven that we have the error-correction architecture and trapped-ion technology required to achieve universal fault-tolerance,” said Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, CEO of Quantinuum. “We have reduced error rates tenfold in rapid succession using a different code on the same commercial hardware, demonstrating the flexibility of our error-correction architecture. We’ve crossed the threshold necessary for exponential improvements in accuracy, reinforcing our path to Apollo and how we can help users unlock commercial value from quantum at scale.”

The study also showed that logical errors fell exponentially as Quantinuum increased the “code distance,” a technique used to understand how many physical qubits are needed to protect quantum information as the error correction scales. Each tested increase reduced the remaining logical errors by a record factor of 12, demonstrating increasingly effective error suppression as the code grows—a critical capability for scaling fault-tolerant quantum computing. Quantinuum believes this result suggests it can deliver fault-tolerance with significantly fewer qubits than are required for other modalities.

“This is a significant milestone that quantum computing researchers have been working toward for many years,” said Robin Blume-Kohout, co-director of Sandia National Laboratories’ Quantum Performance Lab, who was not involved in the study. “The paper demonstrates real, serious performance gains from quantum error correction—a logical qubit nearly 100x better than its component physical qubits. A scaled-up version of this system could reach the reliability required for useful fault-tolerant computation at a feasible size—less than a million physical qubits—which improves the outlook for practical quantum computing. These findings go a long way to retire one of the field’s central technical risks.”

In September 2026, Quantinuum used the same error-correction architecture with its Helix code to demonstrate record-setting logical memory and computation. Both studies ran on the same Helios hardware.

The two demonstrations illustrate how Quantinuum can rapidly prototype different error-correction codes within the same architecture to optimize for relative strengths in accuracy, efficiency, and speed. On Helios, Helix used 10 physical qubits per logical qubit, compared with up to 37 for the color code, while the color code delivered lower logical error rates. This provides insight into which applications pair best with each code as systems advance toward fault-tolerance.

Quantinuum’s error-correction architecture is flexible, allowing for adaptive syndrome extraction, which adjusts error-checking measurements during computation, and chain-mapping, which connects codes suited to different computational tasks. Together with efficient code structures and real-time decoding, these techniques provide multiple ways to reduce errors and resource requirements.

Quantinuum is combining its hardware, error-correction architecture, and full-stack software platform into an integrated system for fault-tolerant quantum computing. As customers prepare for this next era of computing, Quantinuum is providing the tools needed to develop and scale quantum applications capable of addressing challenges across materials science, chemistry, finance, logistics, and other critical sectors.

Read the full research here: quantinuum.com/fault-tolerance-by-2029‍

About Quantinuum

Quantinuum is a leading quantum computing company offering a full-stack platform designed to make quantum computing deployable in real-world environments. The company has commercially deployed multiple generations of trapped-ion based quantum systems built on the well-established QCCD architecture, which it has implemented with novel designs and capabilities to achieve the industry’s highest accuracy levels based on average two-qubit gate fidelity. Quantinuum has active engagements with market leaders across pharmaceuticals, material science, financial services, and government and industrial markets, as well as academic and research institutions globally. The company has a global workforce of approximately 800 employees, including top scientists and researchers. Over 70% of its technology team holds PhDs or Master’s degrees. Quantinuum’s headquarters is in Broomfield, Colorado, with additional facilities across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Qatar, and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.quantinuum.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including statements about Quantinuum’s path to and the expected timing of Apollo, its planned universal fault-tolerant quantum computer, by 2029; the expected performance, scalability and resource requirements of Quantinuum’s logical error-correction architecture, error-correction codes and trapped-ion hardware, including the number of physical qubits required to achieve fault tolerance relative to other approaches; the pace of future improvements in logical error rates, Quantinuum’s ability to help customers prepare for and realize commercial value from fault-tolerant quantum computing; and the potential impact of quantum computing on sectors including materials science, chemistry, finance and logistics. Words such as "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "confidence,” "could," "expect," "explore," "intend," "may," “path,” "plan," "potential," "seek," “suggest,” "will," "would" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words.

Forward-looking statements are based on Quantinuum's current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks include, among others: the results described in this press release were achieved in experimental settings and  may not be able to be replicated at a larger scale, in logical computation, or in commercial use; Quantinuum may be unable to scale its systems, increase qubit counts or integrate its hardware, error-correction framework and software as planned; Quantinuum may not achieve its technology roadmap, including Apollo, on the expected timeline or at all; the pace of technical progress in quantum computing; Quantinuum's ability to maintain the availability and performance of its systems, including Helios; competition, including advances by companies using other quantum computing modalities or architectures; the availability of funding, personnel and government support; and the other risks described under "Risk Factors" in Quantinuum's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 and its subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Quantinuum undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.

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October 5, 2026
Quantinuum and The University of Western Australia Partner to Advance Australia's Quantum Capability
  • Quantinuum and The University of Western Australia (UWA) sign MOU to help prepare Australia’s workforce and innovation ecosystem for the hybrid quantum-AI-HPC computing era
  • Quantinuum will provide UWA-affiliated researchers, students and entrepreneurs with access to its full-stack quantum computing ecosystem, including Helios, the world's most accurate commercial quantum computer1
  • Collaboration will focus on developing quantum applications for sectors critical to Australia's economy, including critical minerals, energy, agriculture, and healthcare

BROOMFIELD, Colo., and PERTH, Australia—October 5, 2026—Quantinuum (NASDAQ: QNT), a leading quantum computing company, today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with The University of Western Australia (UWA) to advance Australia’s quantum capability by expanding access to advanced quantum computing, developing quantum talent, and accelerating the development of practical applications that integrate quantum computing, AI, and high-performance computing (HPC).

Through the collaboration, UWA-affiliated researchers, students, and entrepreneurs will gain cloud-based access to Quantinuum's full-stack quantum computing platform, including Helios, the company's latest-generation quantum computer. The partnership is designed to provide hands-on experience with advanced quantum technologies while creating new opportunities to explore how quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing can work together to address complex real-world challenges.

The organisations will also explore opportunities to expand UWA's Quantum and AI research ecosystem through a university-wide quantum computing applications centre that would bring together academic, industry, and government stakeholders to identify and develop high-value use cases in critical sectors for Australia’s economy, including critical minerals, energy, agriculture, and healthcare.

"Australia has set an ambitious vision for quantum, and it is making meaningful progress toward turning that vision into reality thanks to leadership from institutions like UWA," said Marvin Lee, Quantinuum’s Singapore-based Country Leader. "Together, we're bringing our full suite of capabilities, from world-leading hardware and software to application expertise and ecosystem programs, to develop practical quantum applications and hybrid workflows that will prepare Australia for the quantum era and support the nation's future prosperity."

Beyond providing access to advanced quantum systems, the partnership aims to help build the technical capabilities and innovation networks needed to support Australia's long-term quantum ambitions. Through engagement with Quantinuum programs such as Q-Net and the Startup Partner Program, researchers, developers, and entrepreneurs will have opportunities to access training, collaborate with peers across the global quantum ecosystem, and accelerate the development of quantum-enabled solutions.

Working alongside UWA researchers and industry stakeholders, Quantinuum experts will help evaluate candidate use cases, establish technical benchmarks and assess hybrid workflows that integrate quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing.

Professor Jingbo Wang, founder and Director of UWA’s Research Centre for Quantum Information, Simulation and Algorithm (QUISA), said the partnership built on UWA’s strengths in quantum computing research.

“Through co-design with potential end users and quantum computing hardware providers, this initiative will create new opportunities for UWA researchers, students and industry partners, while strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration across the University. We look forward to exploring all the opportunities this will bring for our researchers as well as student pathways, internships and workforce training initiatives,” Professor Wang said.

“Access to leading quantum technologies helps Australian researchers, students and companies build capability and understand where quantum can deliver real value,” said Petra Andrén, CEO of Quantum Australia. “Collaborations like this create opportunities to develop skills, test applications and connect research with industry challenges. Australia has strengths across the quantum technology stack. Access to the best capabilities, both here and internationally, will help translate those strengths into economic and community benefit.”

The partnership reflects a shared commitment to ensuring Australia remains not only a source of quantum discovery, but a place where quantum technologies are put to work solving real-world challenges and creating economic value.

About Quantinuum

Quantinuum is a leading quantum computing company offering a full-stack platform designed to make quantum computing deployable in real-world environments. The company has commercially deployed multiple generations of trapped-ion based quantum systems built on the well-established QCCD architecture, which it has implemented with novel designs and capabilities to achieve the industry’s highest accuracy levels based on average two-qubit gate fidelity. Quantinuum has active engagements with market leaders across pharmaceuticals, material science, financial services, and government and industrial markets, as well as academic and research institutions globally. The company has a global workforce of approximately 800 employees, including top scientists and researchers. Over 70% of its technology team holds PhDs or Master’s degrees. Quantinuum’s headquarters is in Broomfield, Colorado, with additional facilities across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Qatar, and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.quantinuum.com.

About UWA

For more than 110 years, The University of Western Australia has been a place where ambition meets action. As the state’s first and leading university, we inspire students, researchers and partners to create meaningful change and tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. Located on the banks of the Derbal Yerrigan (Swan River), our main campus stands on land where kaartdjin (knowledge) has been shared for tens of thousands of years. This enduring legacy of learning shapes our diverse global community of more than 28,000 students from 100 countries, connected to a powerful network of over 150,000 graduates making an impact worldwide. Ranked in the global top 100 (QS 2027) and a member of the prestigious Group of Eight, UWA is recognised for excellence in teaching, research and industry collaboration. From sustainability and health to technology and communities, our work drives real-world outcomes.

At UWA, impact starts here. For more information visit: uwa.edu.au

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including statements about the expected scope, activities and benefits of the collaboration between Quantinuum and The University of Western Australia; the potential establishment of a university-wide quantum computing applications centre; the development of quantum applications, hybrid quantum-AI-HPC workflows and quantum talent; and the potential impact of quantum computing on sectors including critical minerals, energy, agriculture and healthcare. Words such as "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "could," "expect," "explore," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "seek," "will," "would" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words.

Forward-looking statements are based on Quantinuum's current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks include, among others: the Memorandum of Understanding is non-binding, and the parties may not enter into definitive agreements or carry out the activities described; the proposed applications centre may not be established; the collaboration may not produce commercially viable applications or the expected benefits; the pace of technical progress in quantum computing; Quantinuum's ability to maintain the availability and performance of its systems, including Helios; competition; the availability of funding, personnel and government support; and the other risks described under "Risk Factors" in Quantinuum's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 and its subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Quantinuum undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.

1 As of December 31, 2025.

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September 11, 2026
Quantinuum to Participate in the Piper Sandler 5th Annual Growth Frontiers Conference

BROOMFIELD, Colo., September 11, 2026 - Quantinuum Inc. (Nasdaq: QNT) (the “Company”), a leading quantum computing company, today announced that members of its management team will participate in the Piper Sandler 5th Annual Growth Frontiers Conference, taking place September 14–16, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Quantinuum will participate in a fireside chat and host one-on-one meetings with investors during the conference.

About Quantinuum

Quantinuum is a leading quantum computing company offering a full-stack platform designed to make quantum computing deployable in real-world environments. The company has commercially deployed multiple generations of trapped-ion based quantum systems built on the well-established QCCD architecture, which it has implemented with novel designs and capabilities to achieve the industry’s highest accuracy levels based on average two-qubit gate fidelity. Quantinuum has active engagements with market leaders across pharmaceuticals, material science, financial services, and government and industrial markets, as well as academic and research institutions globally.

The company has a global workforce of approximately 800 employees, including top scientists and researchers. Over 70% of its technology team holds PhDs or Master’s degrees. Quantinuum’s headquarters is in Broomfield, Colorado, with additional facilities across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Qatar, and Singapore.

Contacts

Investor & Media Contact

Shub Mukherjee - Investor Contact - investors@quantinuum.com

Aaron Sorenson - Media Contact - press@quantinuum.com

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