QuEra Quantum Computing with Neutral-Atom Architecture
Quantum Computing Era
QuEra Quantum System Computes using Neutral Atoms
As the era of practical quantum computing approaches, industry interest is shifting from “if” to “when” such powerful systems will be widely deployed. After five to ten years of quantum technology developments, Yuval Boger, Chief Commercial Officer of QuEra Computing, says building a quantum computer is inevitable and the timeline for real-world applications is shorter.
“There are moments when it’s difficult to appreciate all of the incredible advancements that have been made,” Boger told The Next Platform. Five to 10 years ago, the question arose: "Could you build a quantum computer?" It should be evident. People believe you can build a quantum computer.
Overdevelopment and Investment
Recent high-profile IT company announcements reinforce this. Amazon Web Services, Google, and Microsoft have introduced quantum chips with critical error correction features. Microsoft boldly claimed that its Majorana 1 quantum processor will enable reliable, fault-tolerant quantum computers in years rather than decades.
IBM revealed its fault-tolerant Quantum Starling system by 2029 in late May after consecutive Nighthawk processor releases from 2025 to 2028. Quantum circuits with 100 million quantum gates on 200 logical qubits are planned for this system. Besides delivering its annealing Advantage quantum devices through its Leap cloud platform, D-Wave debuted its first on-premises computer and revealed an ambitious ambition in March 2025.
Accelerated innovation draws investment. In 2025's first quarter, quantum technology spending tripled from the year before. IT giants like Nvidia are aggressively entering the quantum industry with QuEra, Quantinuum, and Quantum Machines in their Boston quantum research lab.
QuEra, which received $47 million in October 2024 and $230 million in February 2025 with Google and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, has benefited. This money will help it create fault-tolerant technology, hire more scientists and engineers, and deepen partnerships with government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and research institutes.
Quantum System Travel
The installation of QuEra's first quantum systems outside its labs were significant. Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) acquired the gate-based neutral-atom Gemini quantum computer late last month. Under a $41 million contract awarded a year earlier, Japan's new G-QuAT quantum-AI research centre received the machine to run alongside the Nvidia-powered ABCI-Q supercomputer. A gate-based neutral-atom quantum system from QuEra was also delivered to the National Quantum Computing Centre at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, England.
These deployments emphasise the hybrid classical-quantum operational paradigm. Boger suggests that quantum computers will complement CPUs and GPUs rather than replace them. “There is a widespread misperception that quantum computers will simply replace or displace conventional CPUs or GPUs,” Boger said. Do not believe that. One more processor unit will be added to the datacenter. Some things work well for GPUs and QPUs, others for CPUs.
Using Neutral Atom Modality
QuEra's neutral-atom technology provides benefits over superconducting or trapped-ion qubits. Precision laser beams hold neutral atoms in a vacuum for interference-free ‘optical tweezers’. QuEra's 19-inch rack-mounted devices use 20 kilowatts of electricity at ambient temperature instead of cryogenic cooling.
Boker praises atoms' purity and scalability, calling them abundant and perfect. Their identicality makes them excellent. No manufacturing faults, even with a million atoms. Because atoms are only a few microns, large-scale qubit arrays can be constructed with only four microns between them. Boger says intrinsic scalability is becoming an engineering problem, not a science.
Concept to Practice: Next Steps
This shows how theory applies to practice. In 2023, Harvard, QuEra, MIT, NIST, and the University of Maryland demonstrated qubit failure detection and repair. Next, constructing quantum systems with enough usable qubits is being solved.
Boger believes quantum computers will be “truly useful” for solving business problems with monetary value in two or three years. First uses are expected in material science, chemistry, and medicine. Rapid industrial investment, which exceeded $1.25 billion in the first quarter of 2025, supports this commonly held belief. Boger says the large sums and respectable companies signal potential. Value public firms in quantum using Amazon, IBM, Google, and Microsoft.
Since 2022, QuEra's 256-qubit Aquila quantum technology has been available on AWS for 130 hours per week using programmable arrays of neutral Rubidium atoms. Aquila is analogue, while Gemini is digital; its recent installation in Japan signals a generational change. Boger compares this to CDs and vinyl for audio, which have the same objective but different recording and playback methods. Future QuEra systems will have more qubits, lower error rates, better logical qubits, higher external connectivity, and better interfaces with regular CPUs and GPUs, backed by enhanced software infrastructure.
The path to mainstream quantum usefulness is clearer as companies like QuEra build solutions that integrate into present computing infrastructures to solve previously unsolvable problems.
