A quantum computer is a physical device that utilizes the principles of quantum mechanics for high-speed mathematical and logical operations, storage, and processing of quantum information. Broadly, any apparatus capable of processing quantum information and running quantum algorithms can be termed a quantum computer.

01

Quantum Computing Competition Intensifies

In 2019, Google unveiled a 53-qubit computer named "Sycamore," achieving global quantum supremacy for the first time, heralding a new era in quantum computing. By the end of 2024, Google introduced its next-generation Willow chip, showcasing impressive computational prowess. It can solve a problem that would take a traditional computer 10^25 years in just 5 minutes.

In 2025, Microsoft released Majorana 1, the world's first quantum computing chip based on a topological qubit architecture. This chip employs a topological conductor material synthesized from semiconducting indium arsenide and superconducting aluminum, enabling high-stability qubit operations through manipulation of Majorana particles. As the culmination of nearly two decades of Microsoft's topological quantum research, Majorana 1 validated the technical feasibility of scaling to millions of qubits on a single chip for the first time. It is applied in verifying mathematical problems and developing prototypes, potentially catalyzing significant breakthroughs in material science, artificial intelligence, and other fields.

Internationally, other nations are also actively advancing quantum computing.

In March 2025, Finland's National Institute for Health and Welfare and IQM Quantum Computers introduced Europe's first 50-qubit superconducting quantum computer. Finland first announced its quantum computing development plan in November 2020, with the government allocating a total of 20.7 million euros for the development of a 50-qubit quantum computer. The plan was divided into three phases: developing a 5-qubit quantum computer in 2021, a 20-qubit quantum computer in 2023, and the launch of the 50-qubit quantum computer marking the completion of the third phase.

Additionally, Xanadu Quantum Technologies in Canada developed the world's first scalable prototype of an optical quantum computer. Researchers adopted a modular design concept, starting with a basic unit containing a small number of qubits suitable for basic application scenarios. As demand grows, computing power can be expanded by adding more units of the same type. These units collaborate through a network to form a large computer, with each added unit or quantum server rack increasing overall processing power. Since the entire system is photonic-based, there is no need to integrate photonic components with traditional electronic components.

In China, in 2020, Pan Jianwei's team constructed a 76-photon quantum computing prototype named "Jiuzhang," making China the second country to achieve quantum supremacy and securing a pivotal position in quantum computing. In 2021, Pan Jianwei's team continued their efforts, successfully developing "Jiuzhang 2" with 113 photons and "Zuchongzhi 2" with 66 qubits, positioning China as the only country to achieve quantum supremacy in both optical and superconducting technology paths, further cementing China's leadership in quantum computing. On October 11, 2023, the quantum computing prototype "Jiuzhang 3" was successfully constructed, boasting remarkable computing power. It can solve the most complex samples in 1 microsecond, a task that would take the world's fastest supercomputer approximately 20 billion years. On March 21, 2025, Pan Jianwei's team officially released the photonic quantum computer "Jiuzhang 4," achieving coordinated control of 3,000 photons with a single-qubit error rate of just 0.001%. It processes Gaussian boson sampling tasks 10^32 times faster than supercomputers, once again setting a new speed record for quantum computing.

Origin Quantum Computing Technology (Hefei) Co., Ltd. launched China's third-generation self-developed superconducting quantum computer, "Origin Monkey King," on January 6, 2024. This quantum computer is equipped with a 72-qubit self-developed superconducting quantum chip named "Monkey King Core," representing the most advanced programmable and deliverable superconducting quantum computer. Researchers explain that a superconducting quantum computer is based on superconducting circuit quantum chips. Internationally, both IBM and Google quantum computers utilize the superconducting technology path. "Origin Monkey King" is paired with Origin Quantum's third-generation quantum computing measurement and control system, "Origin Tianji," which has implemented batch automated testing of quantum chips, significantly enhancing the overall operating efficiency of the quantum computer. Its 72-qubit superconducting quantum chip, "Monkey King Core," comprises a total of 198 qubits, including 72 working qubits and 126 coupler qubits. As of June 4, 2025, "Origin Monkey King" has completed over 500,000 quantum computing tasks for users from 143 countries and regions, with global access exceeding 29 million times, setting a new record for the scale of China's self-developed quantum computing power services and becoming a significant player in the global quantum computing field. In June 2025, China's first quantum chip production line was officially launched in Hefei with an annual production capacity of 1,000 chips, marking the transition of quantum computing technology from the laboratory to industrialization. Built by Origin Quantum, this production line achieves full localization of the design, tape-out, packaging, and testing processes, with a localization rate of key equipment exceeding 90%, breaking the technological monopoly of Europe and the United States.

China Telecom Quantum Information Technology Group Co., Ltd. officially released the "Tianyan 504," the superconducting quantum computer with the most qubits per unit in China, in December 2024, underscoring its global leadership in quantum computer manufacturing and delivery capabilities. In November 2023, China Telecom launched the "Tianyan" quantum computing cloud platform, the world's first hyper-converged cloud platform with quantum supremacy capabilities. By integrating the supercomputing power of "Tianyi Cloud" with the computing power of 176 superconducting qubits, it provides convenient and streamlined quantum computing services for various users. In April 2024, the 504-qubit superconducting quantum computing chip "Xiaohong" was delivered. Based on the "Xiaohong" chip, China Telecom Quantum Group and Keda Guodun Quantum Technology Co., Ltd. jointly developed the "Tianyan 504," the superconducting quantum computer with the most qubits per unit in China, and made it accessible to the world through the "Tianyan" quantum computing cloud platform. This platform comprises one 24-qubit, two 176-qubit, and one 504-qubit quantum computer, forming the largest quantum computing cluster in China. It also offers five types of high-performance simulators with world-class computing performance and the Cqlib quantum programming framework, achieving a dual upgrade in computing power scale and variety.

02

On the Brink of Quantum Computer Mass Adoption, This is Critical

Despite significant advancements in quantum computing, the path to a truly universal quantum computer remains lengthy. The international consensus is that this will take at least 5 to 10 years. In 2019, IBM proposed the "Quantum Moore's Law" to describe quantum chip performance, stating that the quantum volume of quantum chips should at least double annually. With the exponential growth in qubit numbers, the demand for quantum electronic design automation (Q-EDA) tools is also surging, and these tools can effectively enhance quantum chip research and development efficiency.

In March 2021, IBM launched Qiskit Metal, an open-source electronic design automation (EDA) software based on Python for superconducting quantum chips. In June 2021, Finnish quantum hardware startup IQM released its open-source software tool KQCircuits for automated layout design of superconducting quantum chips. This tool can inspect and optimize chip layouts to a certain extent, reducing micro-nano processing costs. In March 2022, Baidu's Quantum Computing Research Institute presented its progress in quantum chip automated design tools at the international conference QIP2022, supporting automated design and simulation of 2D and 3D superconducting quantum chips. Given a design task, it can generate the quantum chip layout and the gds files required for micro-nano processing, as well as simulate the quantum chip's performance. The entire design and simulation process can be automated, significantly enhancing quantum chip research and development efficiency. Today, top high-tech companies and universities worldwide are gradually investing in the development of Q-EDA tools and actively positioning themselves in the future quantum chip market to seize the initiative in the competition for future quantum advantages.

03

Taking an Early Lead in Q-EDA to Seize Next-Generation Opportunities

Compared to the top-down and standardized integrated circuit design verification process of traditional EDA, the current industry-typical quantum chip design resembles early CAD computer-aided design, overly reliant on experimental experience. Quantum chip design and research and development are relatively ad hoc, with designers needing to switch between multiple different software to manually complete tasks such as quantum chip design and wiring. This method is barely adequate for small-scale quantum chip research and development, but as qubit numbers increase, manually designing quantum chips composed of tens of thousands or even millions of qubits becomes impractical. Therefore, the development of quantum electronic design automation tools is imperative.

Chip design is highly reliant on EDA software. If the lithography machine is the "father of chips," responsible for physically realizing chip designs, then EDA is the "mother of chips." In the era of quantum computing, Q-EDA, as the core tool for quantum chip design, has become the key to breaking technological barriers and seizing industrial opportunities.

However, in the field of traditional chip EDA, China has been playing catch-up due to a late start. Now, in the quantum computer era, there is an urgent need to take an early lead and seize opportunities. Chip design cannot be separated from EDA design software. To ensure that domestic quantum technology companies do not lag behind in the competition with foreign technology giants and avoid being constrained like traditional chip EDA in the quantum computer era, in early 2022, Origin Quantum released "Q-EDA," China's first quantum chip design industrial software, "Origin Kunyuan." It supports the automated design of both superconducting and semiconductor quantum chips and is an essential tool for efficiently engineering large-scale quantum chips.

Recently, the Anhui Key Laboratory of Quantum Computing Chips announced that the domestic quantum chip design industrial software Q-EDA "Origin Kunyuan" has completed its fifth technological iteration. This iteration successfully breaks through the technical bottleneck of large-scale quantum chip design, injecting new momentum into China's quantum chip independent research and development and industrialization process.

"Origin Kunyuan" was fully independently developed by Origin Quantum Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. Since its initial release in 2022, which filled a domestic gap, "Origin Kunyuan" has steadily undergone five iterations and upgrades, focusing on the goals of "large-scale, high-precision, and automation." Taking the design of a 72-qubit quantum chip as an example, after this iteration, "Origin Kunyuan," supported by the process design suite, has achieved automated one-stop rapid layout generation, completing the full layout drawing of a 72-qubit chip in just 6 minutes and 50 seconds.

Designing a quantum chip is akin to building a house, requiring both meticulous planning of spatial layout (quantum chip structure design) and optimization of critical "water and electricity wiring" (qubit connections). Li Shuxiao, general manager of Origin Quantum Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd., introduced that the core breakthrough of the fifth version of "Origin Kunyuan" lies in the comprehensive upgrade of wiring flexibility, innovatively realizing fully automated wiring functions in extreme spatial scenarios, and flexibly providing multiple semi-automatic wire-repair tools, while balancing design efficiency and operational freedom. Guo Guoping, director of the Anhui Key Laboratory of Quantum Computing Chips, stated that this software upgrade further breaks through the technical bottleneck of large-scale quantum chip design, successfully achieving modeling with tens of millions of grid points and numerical calculation of quantum chip parameters, effectively enhancing China's competitiveness in the core aspects of quantum computing.

In this fierce global competition in quantum computing, China is gradually assuming a leading position in the field through early planning and continuous investment in key areas such as quantum computer research and development and Q-EDA tool layout, laying a solid foundation for future development in the quantum technology era. With continuous technological advancements and industrialization, China is poised to achieve greater breakthroughs in quantum computing and lead the global development trend of quantum technology.