A quantum computing architecture to accelerate the early practical application of quantum computers

STAR architecture

Breakthrough quantum technology slashes computational requirements for quantum chemistry calculations
(Announced on March 25, 2026)

An image of a 3D model of a complex molecular structure.

Calculating the energy of molecules, such as chemical catalysts, accurately is beyond the reach of conventional computers. Achieving this requires a quantum computer – but systems with the resources to do this are still a long way from being practical.
The new STAR architecture*, version 3, changes that. It delivers more than ten times the precision of the previous version by enhancing the phase-rotation gates of our proprietary quantum computing architecture.
Previously, such calculations would have required around 1 million qubits. With STAR architecture ver. 3 and molecular model optimization technology, these computations can be performed on a quantum computer with just tens of thousands of qubits.
This breakthrough brings the practical calculation of complex chemical energies, once unimaginable, much closer to reality.
*: Space-Time efficient Analog Rotation quantum computing (STAR) architecture

Press release (March 25, 2026 release)

Press conference materials (March 25, 2026 release)

Press conference video (March 25, 2026 release)

TECH BLOG

Toward Practical Quantum Computing in the early-FTQC Era

1. The Current State of Quantum Computers and early-FTQC

Quantum computers, which are highly anticipated in fields such as drug discovery and finance, face the challenge of computational errors caused by noise as a barrier to practical implementation. The realization of fault-tolerant quantum computers (FTQC), which solve this problem, is expected to take 10 to 20 years. We aim to develop a unique quantum computing architecture during the "early-FTQC" era—the stage preceding full-scale FTQC—and to be the first in the world to achieve practical computing.

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2. What Is STAR architecture?

The STAR architecture is a unique quantum computing architecture designed to enable practical computations even during the early-FTQC era. By making quantum computation more efficient, it enables calculations to be performed using far fewer qubits.

Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing and Error Correction Concepts (Technology News)

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3. Results of STAR architecture ver. 3

By combining two new technologies - STAR architecture ver. 3 with molecular model optimization technology, we have demonstrated the potential to perform complex molecular calculations within realistic timescales (results announced on March 25, 2026). This new version builds on STAR architecture ver. 2 that we announced in 2024, delivering dramatically higher precision and efficiency.

For example, in calculations involving ruthenium (Ru) catalysts, which are being explored for CO₂ reduction, STAR architecture ver. 3 reduces the number of qubits required from approximately 2 million with conventional FTQC to about 50,000. When further coupled with molecular model optimization, the estimated computation time drops dramatically—from 5,000 days to roughly 5 days.