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FROM THE EDITOR.

It’s a big holiday weekend in the U.S., in case you’re wondering why your emails haven’t been returned.

But a holiday break does not mean a break in the quantum action.

Plenty of moves across modalities, ecosystems and disciplines this week. The White House announced the sci-fi action flick-sounding Genesis Mission that would tap quantum to serve as one part of a computational supersystem. In the UK, the Autumn Budget got mixed reviews from that country’s quantum community — some saw the lack of specific mentions of quantum to be concerning, while others found ways that quantum will play an important part in the overall plan.

Saudia Arabia touted the launch of their first computer, underlining two key partners: Pasqal and Aramco. The subtext behind this project: it will likely serve as a lynchpin open the floodgates to bring more quantum to more of the middle east faster.

Those stories and more below!

Have a great weekend!

— Matt, Chief Content Officer at The Quantum Insider

INSIDER BRIEF.

• White House Launches Genesis Mission

• U.K. Budget Leaves Quantum Out—But Builds the Infrastructure

• IonQ and Heven AeroTech Partner to Develop Quantum-Enabled Drones

• Elevate Quantum Opens New 10 mK Testing Lab

• Building a UK Quantum Strategy: The UK Must Win The Race for the Next Critical Technology

• UK Government Partners With Private Investment

• IonQ CEO Outlines Expansion Strategy

• Sydney Team Blocks Noise in Chip-Scale Lasers

• Shop-Bought Cable Advance Quantum Networks

• Germany Opens INQUBATOR

  ANALYST NOTES.

The Noteworthy & Nuanced

The Quantum Insider’s team aren’t the only ones who love “quantum” wordplay. Germany has launched INQUBATOR, a four-year Fraunhofer-led programme aimed at helping companies adopt quantum computing and build early, real-world use cases. Supported by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, the initiative provides low-cost access to quantum hardware, training, and joint R&D opportunities.

The UK’s Autumn 2025 Budget left the quantum community wanting for more. No dedicated quantum funding was introduced, while instead the broader landscape in which the sector operates was reshaped. Instead of standalone programs, quantum is positioned as a horizontal capability underpinning national priorities such as AI, sovereign compute, and advanced manufacturing.

Japan plans to build a 600-kilometer quantum-encrypted fiber network linking Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe by 2027, with full deployment targeted for 2030. Operated by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology and developed with Toshiba, NEC, and major telecom carriers, the project aims to secure finance, diplomacy, and medical-genomics communications before quantum computers threaten current encryption. — Alan Kanapin, Analyst at The Quantum Insider

The Research Rundown

Check out this week’s handpicked quantum research. These are studies headed for real-world impact: improving accuracy, reducing latency, using fewer resources, or solving problems that classical methods struggle with. These are early developments, but they hint at where quantum might earn its keep.

• Researchers introduce a quantum machine learning framework for optimizing CO₂ plume geothermal systems. Developed by a team from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute and Sultan Qaboos University, this approach enables real-time exploration of injection pressures, geological settings, and well configurations.

• Researchers develop a quantum-computing-inspired optimization and prediction framework to improve real-time load balancing across server networks supporting IoT and digital twin applications. By encoding server performance parameters into qubit-like probabilistic states, the system evaluates many task–server allocations simultaneously and predicts optimal virtual machine assignments.

• Researchers from Sichuan University develop a quantum-based method to speed up how scientists identify and label interferon genes, a process traditionally slowed down by BLAST’s search step. By reformulating the search on a quantum circuit, the team cuts the search effort dramatically and shows the approach working end-to-end on both simulators and real quantum devices.
  
  — Cierra Choucair, Journalist & Analyst at The Quantum Insider

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INSIDER SPOTLIGHT: Saudi Arabia Deploys Its First Quantum Computer with Aramco–Pasqal Partnership

➡️ Aramco and Pasqal have deployed Saudi Arabia’s first quantum computer — and the Middle East’s first quantum system built specifically for industrial use — at Aramco’s Dhahran data center.
➡️ The system, a 200-qubit neutral-atom machine, will support quantum algorithm development for energy, materials and industrial optimization across the Kingdom and the region.
➡️ The deployment expands an existing relationship that began with Aramco’s venture arm investing in Pasqal in 2023, aimed at localizing quantum talent and technology inside Saudi Arabia.
➡️ Pasqal will provide training and joint research programs to build a domestic quantum workforce and strengthen Saudi Arabia’s high-tech ecosystem.
➡️ Aramco says the partnership aligns with its strategy to apply advanced computing, AI and digital systems to improve efficiency, accelerate innovation and expand long-term value creation.

Analyst Commentary

We’ve talked about inflection points a lot this year. We’re going to do it again.

Saudi Arabia’s first quantum computer shows all the signs of an inflection point for the region’s technology ambitions and signals that quantum adoption is shifting from global research hubs into strategic industries. The Aramco–Pasqal deployment puts the Middle East into the race for early quantum advantage, with a system explicitly designed for real-world use cases rather than laboratory demonstration. It also reflects a broader pattern: major industrial players are beginning to align with quantum leaders to test, scale and eventually operationalize quantum computing for complex optimization problems.

For Aramco, the installation represents a practical step toward building sovereign capabilities in advanced computing. The company has spent years investing in AI, digitalization and high-performance computing; adding a quantum system into its data-center environment extends that trajectory into workloads where classical methods hit performance limits. Energy modeling, subsurface simulation, materials design and logistics optimization are all areas where hybrid quantum–classical workflows could produce measurable gains once algorithms mature.

The scale of the deployment matters. To the best of my research, no Middle Eastern country has previously installed a quantum computer aimed at industrial operations, and the Aramco system is now the most powerful quantum platform in the region. That establishes Saudi Arabia as the early anchor for the Gulf’s emerging quantum ecosystem and positions the Kingdom as the first mover in quantum workforce development through training programs for Saudi engineers and researchers.

The partnership also demonstrates a model others may follow: a global industrial company with complex computational problems joins with a specialized quantum vendor, backed by local investment, to accelerate adoption. It could serve as a model, with similar arrangements likely to emerge across petrochemicals, manufacturing, transportation and national infrastructure as governments search for pathways to quantum capability.

A Path to Early Quantum Advantage?

While fully fault-tolerant machines remain a long-term goal, the Aramco–Pasqal effort is structured around near-term value. This system offers enough scale to explore advanced algorithms for optimization, simulation and materials discovery — the kinds of problems that could show early quantum advantage once hybrid techniques mature. By embedding the system inside operational data centers, Aramco positions itself to test those possibilities directly rather than observing progress from the sidelines.

For Pasqal, the deployment underscores its strategy of pairing hardware delivery with localized training, research partnerships and regional presence — an approach the company has used in Europe and is now extending to the Middle East. As national digital-transformation programs accelerate across the Gulf, quantum partnerships built around industrial use cases will likely become more common.

If early use cases in energy, materials and logistics show promise, this deployment points the way toward how large industrial companies — in the Middle East and globally — begin integrating quantum systems into their operational stack. For now, it is a high-visibility signal that the race to practical quantum computing is widening, and the Middle East intends to compete.

DATA SPOTLIGHT.

PacketLight Networks and NEC demonstrated quantum key distribution over a 400G dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) network using a dual-fiber setup. They integrated NEC’s QKD system with PacketLight’s PL-4000M 600G Muxponder, achieving 100% data throughput and low latency, verified via a 100GbE tester. The QKD ran over a dedicated parallel fiber, maintaining quantum signal integrity. The result: a cost-effective, scalable quantum-safe model with zero performance tradeoffs on existing high-capacity infrastructure.

INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS.

🇶🇦 Firgun Ventures has launched with a $70 million first close anchored by the Qatar Investment Authority to create what it describes as the first VC fund dedicated to early growth-stage quantum technology companies.

🇮🇹 IonQ has appointed Dr. Marco Pistoia as CEO of IonQ Italia, a new division created to expand access to the company’s quantum computing, networking, sensing, and security technologies across Italian industry, government, and research.

🇬🇧 Quantum Exponential Group has signed an MOU with the government-aligned Harwell Quantum Cluster to link its new £100 million Quantum Technologies Fund with national facilities such as the NQCC and NPL, aiming to close the UK’s scale-up funding gap.

🤝 IonQ is partnering with Heven AeroTech to integrate quantum computing, networking, sensing, and security capabilities into long-endurance hydrogen-powered autonomous drones, enabling secure links, alternative navigation, and optimized mission routing.

🇮🇳 India announced new quantum fabrication facilities under the National Quantum Mission, investing ₹720 crore to build domestic capability in quantum chips, sensors, and scalable hardware across IIT Bombay, IISc Bengaluru, IIT Delhi, and IIT Kanpur.

🚀 Canadian Space Mining Corporation won a contract to develop QASM, a quantum gravimetry sensor that uses cold-atom interferometry to detect subsurface resources like critical minerals and water from orbit. The project deepens EU–Canada collaboration in quantum space technologies.

✈️ Xanadu, Rolls-Royce, and Riverlane used quantum-enhanced methods to cut jet-engine airflow simulation times from weeks to under an hour, combining PennyLane, Riverlane’s algorithms, and Rolls-Royce’s engineering workflows.

🌐 Japan plans to build a 600-kilometer quantum-encrypted fiber network connecting Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Kobe by 2027, with nationwide deployment targeted for 2030 to secure critical communications before quantum computers threaten current encryption.

🇫🇮 IQM is investing over €40 million to expand its Finnish production facility, doubling assembly capacity and adding cleanrooms and data-center infrastructure to produce more than 30 superconducting quantum computers per year.

🖋️ France and Singapore signed three new agreements at FSQS 2025 to deepen collaboration in quantum computing, photonics, and energy-efficient technologies, expanding joint work on neutral-atom processors, silicon spin-qubits, and error-resilient systems.

🇩🇪 Germany’s new Fraunhofer-led INQUBATOR program gives companies low-cost access to quantum computers, training, and joint R&D to start developing real use cases early. With initial projects in medicine, cybersecurity, insurance, and automotive, the four-year initiative aims to lower adoption barriers.

🗾 Japan plans to allocate about ¥400 billion ($2.6B) in supplementary funding to accelerate quantum technology, AI, and nuclear fusion, including ¥130B for new quantum R&D bases and hub coordination.

🛰️ TII and Honeywell are integrating the QKDSat platform with Abu Dhabi’s Quantum Optical Ground Station to test satellite-to-ground quantum key distribution and build quantum-resilient communication networks.

🇺🇸 The Genesis Mission is a new DOE-led national initiative launched by executive order to integrate the U.S.’s top supercomputers, AI systems, quantum technologies, and scientific instruments into a unified discovery platform.

EVENTS.

Nov. 15- 18 -- BIG Quantum Hackathon, Qatar 2025, Minaretein, Education City,. Doha, Qatar.

Nov. 16-21 -- SuperComputing 2025 (SC25) will be held n St. Louis, USA. SC25 is an international conference for high performance computing, networking, storage and analysis.

Nov. 24-25 -- World Strategic Forum is an international conference organized by the International Economic Forum of the Americas (IEFA). The 14th edition of the World Strategic Forum will be held at the Loews Coral Gables Hotel in Miami, Florida, presented by Integra Capital.

Dec. 1-4 -- QUEST-IS 2025 Quantum Engineering Sciences and Technologies for Industry and Services From Quantum Engineering to Applications for Citizens. EDF Lab, Paris-Saclay, France.

Dec. 3-5 -- Quantum Education Summit 2025 will advance accessible, inclusive quantum education through keynotes, workshops, and a collaborative white paper on workforce development and policy alignment.

Dec. 9-11 -- Q2B 2025 Silicon Valley Q2B is back for the eighth year in a row, connecting the international quantum community computing ecosystems. The event will feature top academics, industry end users, government representatives and quantum computing vendors from all over the world.

Dec. 17-18 -- Science Diplomacy - Bridging divides in a fragmented world will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark. The conference explores how science diplomacy can bridge divides and promote innovation, competitiveness, and international cooperation.

Jan 13–14, 2026 -- Quantum.Tech: Commercial Applications of Quantum Computing, Communications and Sensing, Doha, Qatar

January 27 and 28, 2026 -- Qubits 2026 D-Wave is bringing its annual user conference, Qubits, to Boca Raton, Florida. The event will be held at The Boca Raton resort.

April 27-30 -- The Quantum Matter International Conference & Expo (QUANTUMatter2026) will take place at the Barceló Sants Hotel in Barcelona. The conference to foster the incubation of new ideas & collaborations at the forefront of quantum technologies, emerging quantum materials and novel generations of quantum communication protocols, quantum sensing and quantum simulation.

June 22-24 -- IQT Nordics: Oslo, Norway

June 24-26 -- Quantum. Tech World: Boston, Mass