Superconducting Qubit Makers Compared: Rigetti, IQM, Alice & Bob, OQC, Fujitsu and Anyon
Why so many companies use the same basic qubit
A superconducting qubit is a tiny electrical circuit on a chip, cooled until it carries current with no resistance. If you want the basics first, read superconducting qubits explained and what is a qubit. The reason so many firms build them is practical: the chips are made with techniques close to ordinary chip manufacturing, the gates are fast (Rigetti reports gate times around 60 nanoseconds), and big players like IBM and Google have proven the platform at scale. That also means the field is competitive, so each smaller maker has to pick a clear angle.
The six angles at a glance
| Company | Main bet | Reported milestone | Deep dive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigetti (US) | Chiplets: small chips joined into big machines | 108-qubit Cepheus-1-108Q generally available April 7, 2026, with 99.1% median two-qubit fidelity at launch | Rigetti |
| IQM (Finland) | Systems built for error correction research | Halocene line announced November 13, 2025, first 150-qubit system due by end of 2026 | IQM |
| Alice & Bob (France) | Cat qubits that resist one kind of error | Reported bit-flip times of tens of minutes in preliminary 2025 results | Cat qubits |
| Oxford Quantum Circuits (UK) | Dual-rail dimon qubits that flag their own errors | Roadmap to 200 logical qubits in 2028 and 50,000 in 2034 | OQC |
| Fujitsu with RIKEN (Japan) | Scale, with a 3D layout and high-throughput manufacturing | 256-qubit machine in April 2025, 10,000-plus qubit development started August 2025 | Fujitsu and Anyon |
| Anyon Systems (Canada) | Full stack systems for supercomputing centers | Distribution partnership announced August 31, 2026, 72-qubit system in development | Fujitsu and Anyon |
Three questions that sort the field
How do you get more qubits? Rigetti stitches nine-qubit chiplets together. Fujitsu and RIKEN stack four-qubit units in a 3D structure and pack more into the same refrigerator. IQM and Anyon sell complete systems. Each approach trades off yield, wiring and cooling, which you can read about in the hardware guide.
How do you get fewer errors? Plain improvement of gate quality is one path, and Rigetti's published target is a 99.5% median two-qubit fidelity on its 108-qubit system. A second path is to change the qubit itself so some errors are suppressed or flagged, which is what Alice & Bob and OQC are doing. A third path is to build the control software and decoders now, which is IQM's focus. All of this feeds into quantum error correction.
How do you reach customers? Cloud access (Rigetti reports availability on its own cloud and Amazon Braket), on-site installs at national labs and supercomputing centers (Fujitsu, Anyon), and hybrid links to GPUs, such as IQM's support for NVIDIA NVQLink (see NVQLink).
The honest caveats
Qubit counts alone do not tell you how useful a machine is. A 108-qubit chip at 99.1% two-qubit fidelity is a different animal from a smaller chip at 99.7%. Rigetti itself reported higher fidelity on its smaller 9-qubit and 36-qubit systems than on the 108-qubit one in January 2026, which is a normal pattern: bigger chips are harder. Rigetti also announced a delay of its 108-qubit launch in January 2026 before releasing it in April. Delays like this are common across the industry, so treat every date in this guide as a target.
Superconducting hardware also is not the only race. Trapped ions, neutral atoms and photons are strong rivals (see types of quantum computers and trapped ions). Competition is good news for everyone: it pushes every approach to publish better numbers and share more details.
Why the optimism is fair
Look at the direction of travel. In 2025 and 2026, companies on three continents announced error-aware designs, bigger chips, public roadmaps and government-backed development programs. Fujitsu's 10,000-plus qubit project, for example, is reported to be part of a NEDO program in Japan. Real hardware is shipping to real customers. That is not proof that useful quantum computing is around the corner, but it is steady, measurable progress, and it is why this corner of the industry is worth watching.
If you follow the QNT memecoin, remember that it is a community token and is not connected to any company here, including Quantinuum Ltd. Learning the real technology is the best protection against hype. This is education, not financial advice.
Sources and further reading
- The Quantum Insider: Rigetti updates timeline for Cepheus-1-108Q
- Quantum Computing Report: Rigetti releases Cepheus-1-108Q
- The Quantum Insider: IQM launches Halocene
- R&D World: Alice & Bob roadmap
- The Quantum Insider: OQC roadmap
- The Quantum Insider: Fujitsu and RIKEN 256-qubit system
- The Quantum Insider: Fujitsu 10,000-plus qubit development
- The Quantum Insider: Anyon Systems and KMT Technologies
Reported as of 2026-10-09. Company roadmaps are targets and often slip. Check each company's own announcements. Nothing here is financial advice, and the QNT memecoin is independent of Quantinuum Ltd and of every company named.
Frequently asked questions
Which superconducting quantum company is the biggest?
There is no single answer. IBM and Google are the largest superconducting efforts, while Rigetti, IQM, Alice & Bob, OQC, Fujitsu and Anyon each target a different angle. Size by qubit count, fidelity, revenue and roadmap clarity all give different rankings.
Are these companies connected to the QNT memecoin?
No. The QNT memecoin is an independent community token and is not linked to Quantinuum Ltd or to any company in this guide. Nothing here is financial advice.
Do more qubits always mean a better quantum computer?
No. Gate fidelity, connectivity, error handling and software matter just as much. Rigetti reported higher fidelity on smaller chips than on its 108-qubit chip in January 2026.
Keep reading
- Superconducting Qubits Explained in Depth
How do superconducting qubits work? A clear look at circuits, microwave control, strengths, weaknesses and open questions in widely used quantum hardware. - Types of Quantum Computers: Superconducting, Ion, Photonic and More
A guide to the main ways quantum computers are built, with the strengths and trade-offs of each approach. - Quantum Computing Companies to Know (and Not to Confuse)
A neutral overview of well-known quantum computing companies and what approach each takes, plus how they differ from a memecoin. - Quantum Error Correction in 2026: Where the Race Really Stands
A plain English scorecard of error correction progress: below-threshold results, logical qubit demonstrations, magic states, qLDPC codes and what is still unproven.
All Quantum industry, people and AI guides | Back to top | Search the site
Main pages: Quantum computing explained | Quantum and crypto | Companies | Quantum news | Glossary