Quantum software firm in S’pore gets boost in real-world testing with its own quantum computer

SINGAPORE - Quantum computers that are good enough for everyday business have yet to arrive, but a quantum software company trying to bring that day forward now has its own quantum computer, and it is housed in its office in western Singapore.

Backed by the government-owned deep tech venture capital fund SGInnovate, Horizon Quantum unveiled its US$2.3 million (S$3 million) self-assembled two-tonne machine earlier in December, to help in its quest to make quantum computing more commercially viable.

The start-up makes software to bridge classical computer languages and all quantum machines, of which there are currently several types.

Dr Joe Fitzsimons, Horizon Quantum’s founder and chief executive, said quantum systems have been scaling up rapidly since 2016, led by companies such as IBM.

The Ireland-born, Oxford-trained quantum scientist, whose firm is the first quantum software company to own and operate its own systems, said that Horizon Quantum having its own quantum computer as a test bed for clients and its own solutions would speed up its quest for quantum advantage. This is where a quantum computer solves a real-world problem faster and more accurately than the best available classical computers.

“Achieving quantum advantage will require close coordination between the hardware and software layers,” he said.

SGInnovate’s executive director Tong Hsien-Hui said Dr Fitzsimons’ concept of using software to optimise computer code for quantum machines, irrespective of hardware, would make quantum computing accessible to all, rather than a select few researchers.

Mr Tong, who is also a board member of Horizon Quantum, said that for quantum to gain wide acceptance, several challenges have to be overcome.

He said: “One of the biggest issues is the lack of a general hardware configuration that the industry would fall in line to support as the best way to build a general quantum machine.

“This means that it is highly likely that for the foreseeable future, machines built on different approaches such as trapped ions, superconducting quantum bits, neutral atoms, spin quantum bits and photonics will define the market.

“Given the complexity of each machine, it would take a qualified quantum physicist or engineer to program the machine to do even simple tasks.”

Quantum computers, unlike classical computers now in everyday use, explore many possible solutions in parallel and can potentially solve specific problems, such as complex optimisation or molecular simulation, far faster than any classical system.

Current machines, however, are extremely unstable and have yet to be proved more useful than classical computers, except in a few real-life cases. This has left scientists divided on whether commercialisation is years or decades away.

Horizon Quantum’s system at its Mediapolis office was assembled using a refrigerator from Maybell, control electronics from Quantum Machines and a Rigetti superconducting quantum processor.

Some of the scientists who helped build the computer were trained at the Centre for Quantum Technologies, Singapore’s national research centre in quantum technologies.

The computer’s modular format allows the swopping in and out of additional control electronics and quantum processors, facilitating development across a diverse range of configurations and architectures, said Dr Fitzsimons.

The goal is to be operational on as many hardware platforms as possible, integrating with both cloud-based systems and quantum computers hosted in traditional data centres.

The firm, which is preparing for a special purpose acquisition company listing on US stock exchange Nasdaq in early 2026, said it is valued at US$503 million. Investors include IonQ, one of the world’s largest quantum computing companies.

It currently has 44 employees – 80 per cent of whom are scientists and engineers, with the rest being corporate executives – across its two offices in Singapore and Dublin, said Dr Fitzsimons.

Mr Tong said Horizon Quantum being the first quantum software company to own and operate its own quantum computer in Singapore is significant for several reasons.

The start-up was one of SGinnovate’s earliest bets on deep tech – innovations built on major advances in science or engineering that usually take a long time to show results.

Mr Tong said the company now has an edge in real-world testing, benchmarking and customer-driven development cycles, and has signalled to the world that commercial quantum infrastructure can be built and operated in Singapore.

It also helps draw talent to the Republic, and raises awareness about quantum’s potential among companies, investors and regulators, he added.

“Should quantum advantage be achieved, there is likely to be a sharp increase in the number of companies looking to set up quantum computers within their data centres,” Mr Tong said.

When that happens, he added, Horizon Quantum will be ready for the testing and adoption of software tools for commercialisation.