Asia & Israel

Research cutoff: late September 2026 (sources through ~28–29 Sep 2026)
Scope: China, Japan, South Korea, India, Singapore, Israel, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia / UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand (sparse), Russia (Eurasia note with sanctions context)
Method: Web search and fetch of government releases, company IR/press, and reputable secondary trackers (The Quantum Insider, Quantum Zeitgeist, Entangled Future, PIB India, JETRO, NQO Singapore, RIKEN/Fujitsu, Aramco/Pasqal, NBR Indo-Pacific analyses, SGQI 2026 booklet). Unverified or company-asserted claims are marked. Treat Chinese and Russian qubit-count / supremacy claims with particular caution.

Companions: North America, Europe.

Regional overview

Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing regional quantum market in 2025–26 trackers, though still behind North America on commercial depth and (in most countries) behind Europe on startup density. Distinct national models:

Public funding (illustrative; treat as tracker estimates, not audited totals): SGQI 2026 booklet cites China ~$15.3B cumulative public commitments (largest globally; figure disputed—some Chinese researchers suggest far lower); Japan ~$7.9B (large YoY jump reported); India ~$720M; Singapore ~$616M; Israel ~$338M; Taiwan ~$248M. APAC quantum market often cited ~$540M (2025) and rising.

China

Strategy & public sector

• Five-Year Plans: Quantum elevated from 12th–14th FYP science priorities into the 15th Five-Year Plan (NPC, March 2026) as a named “future industry,” alongside biomanufacturing, hydrogen/fusion, BCI, embodied AI, and 6G.
• National Laboratory for Quantum Information Sciences (Hefei) and provincial Hefei “quantum industry” cluster remain the geographic centre of gravity.
• Cumulative public funding: Western trackers often quote ~$15B (originating largely from a 2022 McKinsey estimate). USTC’s Chao-Yang Lu and others have publicly suggested the true figure may be much lower (on the order of a quarter of that). Mark as unverified / contested. Much spend is infrastructure, not company equity.
• 15th FYP / National Integrated Computing Power Network: Secondary analyses (e.g. NBR Indo-Pacific, Mar 2026) describe plans to embed quantum processors into a nationwide grid of supercomputing centres used by government and SOEs—creating captive demand.
• STAR Market: Shanghai reactivated/widened fifth listing standard (June 2026) to cover quantum, enabling pre-profit listings (path for Origin Quantum IPO tutoring).
• Export controls: US/allied controls on cryogenics, control electronics, and fab tools drive “fully domestic stack” narratives (Origin refrigerators, control systems).

Quantum communication (world-leading commercial maturity):

• Beijing–Shanghai backbone (~2,000 km, operational since 2017) via Jinan and Hefei nodes; national network claimed at >10,000–12,000 km across dozens of cities (carrier-grade papers and QuantumCTek materials—treat distance claims as company/state-asserted).
• Micius satellite era → follow-on microsatellites (e.g. Jinan-1 lineage) for space–ground QKD.
• China Telecom Quantum Group controlling stake in QuantumCTek (Jan 2025) consolidates QKD under a major SOE.

Hardware / full-stack companies

“Zhongke Wanke”: No credible quantum company under that exact name found as of Sep 2026. Possible confusion with Zhongke Guoguang Quantum (optical QKD/chips) or Zhongke Wenge (CAS-linked AI, not quantum). Gap called out.

Software / enablers / communications

Academia & labs

Landscape summary (China)

China leads globally on quantum communication deployment and remains competitive on photonic and superconducting research benchmarks (USTC). Commercial computing is narrower than the US: Origin Quantum is the clear full-stack flagship; SpinQ and TuringQ add education/export and photonics. Alibaba and Baidu have exited hardware; Huawei is software-only publicly. Treat all company-asserted qubit counts (Wukong-180, Jiuzhang 4.0 photon counts, Zuchongzhi supremacy ratios) as unverified for commercial utility. Funding opacity and export controls are structural constraints. Private capital returned strongly in H1 2026 (Origin, SpinQ, TuringQ, QBoson rounds) after a quieter 2025.

Japan

Strategy & public sector

• Quantum Technology Innovation Strategy (Cabinet Office, 2020; updated 2022). Under Takaichi administration (from Oct 2025), quantum remains among strategic fields.
• Moonshot Goal 6 (JST / CSTI): fault-tolerant universal quantum computer by 2050; often associated with ~JPY 100B class instrument for FTQC R&D—treat exact envelope as approximate.
• SIP (Strategic Innovation Promotion Program): applied quantum (~JPY 40B class cited in secondary guides).
• Q-LEAP (MEXT Photonics and Quantum Leap Flagship): FY2018–FY2029 social implementation.
• NEDO post-5G / quantum infrastructure projects (METI).
• Quantum Innovation Hubs (QIHs): ~12 designated as of Feb 2026 (JETRO), headquartered conceptually at RIKEN.
• Q-STAR industry consortium: 100+ corporate members; chaired by figures including Toshiba leadership (Taro Shimada cited as Q-STAR chair).
• QII Consortium at University of Tokyo.
• Policy narrative: 2025 = “first year of quantum industrialisation.” Aggregated national commitments often cited >$1B / >JPY 150B through 2030; SGQI 2026 puts Japan public funding ~$7.9B cumulative (large reported jump)—cross-check definitions.

Hardware / full-stack & major corporates

Software / enablers

Academia & labs

Landscape summary (Japan)

Japan’s model is conglomerate + national lab, not VC-startup. Strengths: superconducting scale-up (Fujitsu–RIKEN), QKD (Toshiba, NTT), cryogenics/materials supply chain, quantum-inspired annealers shipping today. Gaps: fewer pure-play startups than US/EU; photonic/neutral-atom domestic OEMs still early (OptQC, QuEra-hosted). SoftBank’s QuEra stake and AIST deployment import US neutral-atom capability. Watch 2026 1,000-qubit Fujitsu installation status and OptQC–NTT optical roadmap claims carefully.

South Korea

Strategy & public sector

• Quantum Technology Development Plan under MSIT. Catch-up framing acknowledged by ministers (“entered relatively late”).
• Funding: 2024 ~KRW 128.5B; 2025 ~KRW 198.4B (+54%); 2026 elevated within next-gen strategic tech portfolio (quantum–AI convergence). Long-horizon public–private figure often cited KRW 3T+ through ~2030–2035—confirm envelope definitions.
• Targets commonly stated: 1,000-qubit superconducting QC by early 2030s; 100 km intercity quantum network; 2,500 core / 10,000 skilled workforce by ~2035 (strategy documents—aspirational).
• KRISS two-track hardware push reported: ~100Q superconducting and ~1,000Q neutral-atom by 2029 (secondary—verify KRISS primary).
• Daejeon Quantum Technology Cluster co-locates KAIST, KIST, ETRI, KRISS, KISTI.
• Korea Quantum Industry Association coordinates industry standards/advocacy.

Hardware / major players

“QuantaLab”: No clear major Korean quantum company under that name verified at cutoff (possible confusion with KQC, Quantlab finance, or Qunova). Gap.

Software / enablers

Academia & labs

Landscape summary (South Korea)

Korea is a chaebol + import-hardware ecosystem: world-class semiconductor/telecom industrial base, strong PQC/QKD productization (Samsung, SKT), but no scaled indigenous gate-model OEM yet. Access runs through IBM (KQC) and IonQ (SKT / KISTI). Strategy is explicit catch-up toward top-five status by 2030–35. Watch KRISS hardware milestones and whether Samsung Foundry becomes a global cryo/quantum manufacturing partner.

India

Strategy & public sector

• National Quantum Mission (NQM): Approved April 2023; ₹6,003 crore (~$735M) through 2031 under DST.
• Governance: Mission Governing Board, Mission Technology Research Council; Annual Quantum Conclave (Apr 2026).
• Four Thematic Hubs (T-Hubs):

• Startup support: 17 startups under NQM as of ~2025–26 expansion (PIB), including Sense-XT, ORVISSEMI, QuBeats, Quantum AI Global, bloq, GDQ Labs, Quantum Biosciences, Bumble Bee Instruments, SAS Qute Electronics, plus earlier cohort (QNu, etc.).
• Long QKD demo by QNu Labs under NQM highlighted by DST (PIB)—one of the longer deployments claimed globally (verify distance/metrics against primary).

Hardware / communications / software companies

IT services quantum practices

Academia & labs

Landscape summary (India)

India’s strength is mission coordination + QKD/security + software/services, not yet full-stack hardware at global scale. QpiAI is the domestic hardware flagship (early qubit counts). QNu leads communications. Global IT majors provide go-to-market for enterprise quantum readiness. Honest assessment: workforce and applications layer scaling faster than indigenous fault-tolerant hardware.

Singapore

Strategy & public sector

• National Quantum Office (NQO) (est. 2022), hosted at A*STAR, funded by NRF; implements National Quantum Strategy (NQS, May 2024) — nearly SGD 300M over five years (government figures).
• RIE2030 continues quantum as a priority after RIE2025.
• Five national programmes (NQPs):
  1. National Quantum Computing Hub (NQCH)
  2. National Quantum Fabless Foundry / Federated Foundry (NQFF)
  3. National Quantum-Safe Network (NQSN)
  4. National Quantum Sensor Programme (NQSP)
  5. National Quantum Processor Initiative (NQPI)
• Predecessor Quantum Engineering Programme (QEP) since 2018.
• International anchors: Quantinuum, NVIDIA, AWS, Quobly, Pasqal, Keysight, Qolab (NQO-cited partners).

Hardware / software companies & foreign presence

Academia & labs

Landscape summary (Singapore)

Singapore punches above weight as a trusted deployment and software hub: CQT research excellence, NQO coordination, Quantinuum Helios onshore plan, and Horizon Quantum as a rare Asia-listed pure-play (Nasdaq). Not a primary QPU manufacturing nation; strategy is partnership + talent + safe networks + fabless photonics.

Israel

Strategy & public sector

• Israel National Quantum Initiative (INQI): ~ILS 1.25 billion (~$370M) committed through 2026 (tracker consensus); coordinated across Innovation Authority (IIA), Defence Ministry, and academia.
• IIA grants for hardware, software, PQC startups.
• IDF funds quantum sensing / PNT (defence adjacency with Rafael/IAI ecosystems—mostly classified or adjacent, not public QC OEMs).
• 2025 startup funding boom reported (~$500M cumulative Israeli quantum startup funding cited in Technion UK secondary—verify).
• Additional ~$33M government push reported in Ctech coverage for computing ambitions (date-check).
• Quantum-resistant communications consortium launched with industry/academia (2025–26).

Hardware / control / software companies

Rafael / IAI: Defence primes with quantum-sensing / secure-comms adjacency; little public full-stack QC product disclosure—treat as classified-adjacent.

Academia & labs

Landscape summary (Israel)

Israel’s comparative advantage is control electronics, software, and error mitigation—complementary to US/EU hardware OEMs—plus defence-driven sensing. Hardware startups (Quantum Source, Quantum Art, QuamCore) are earlier-stage but credible. INQI funding window through 2026 implies near-term need for renewal/extension decisions.

Taiwan

Strategy & public sector

• National Quantum Program / Quantum Leap Project: Phase 2 industrialization focus (often dated 2027–2031 in NSTC materials).
• President Lai public remarks (Mar 2026) outlining quantum industry plans.
• NSTC coordinating; Quantum Industry Technology Promotion Office for industry–academia–startup linkage.
• NCHC (National Center for High-performance Computing): RFI/RFP activity for a ~150-qubit hybrid quantum computer in Tainan by ~2029 (DigiTimes / NCHC documents—procurement in progress, not deployed).
• Public funding tracker (SGQI): Taiwan ~$248M cumulative—modest vs. Japan/China.

Hardware / supply chain / academia

Startups: Sparse compared with Israel/Singapore; ecosystem still research- and supply-chain-heavy. Honest assessment: Taiwan’s quantum story is semiconductor enablement + planned system procurement, not a dense QPU startup cluster as of Sep 2026.

Landscape summary (Taiwan)

High strategic potential via TSMC/ITRI cryo and packaging, early for commercial quantum vendors. Watch NCHC 150Q hybrid procurement and SEEQC/ITRI cryo-chip work.

Saudi Arabia & UAE

Saudi Arabia

UAE

Landscape summary (Gulf)

Meaningful and recent: Saudi has production QCaaS with a major energy SOE; UAE pursues sovereign superconducting fab. Neither yet hosts a dense startup ecosystem comparable to Israel or Singapore. Bahrain/Qatar/etc.: no material commercial quantum industry found at cutoff.

Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand

Honest sparse assessment—early policy / research, limited commercial scale.

Malaysia

• MIMOS Quantum Intelligence Centre launched Feb 2025 (MOSTI).
• References to a National Quantum Policy 2026–2035 in MIMOS materials—confirm formal gazette status.
• MyQI (Malaysia Quantum Information Initiative): university research coalition.
• Teaming with Korea’s SDT toward a “Quantum Valley” narrative (press).
• Small startup count; no globally scaled QPU vendor identified.

Indonesia

• BRIN quantum research / talent programmes (BRIN-Q).
• Defence-oriented National Quantum Security Roadmap 2025–2030 cited in secondary analyses.
• Indonesian Quantum Initiative community activity.
• Commercial vendor layer: minimal at international scale.

Vietnam

• VNQuantum network launched Aug 2025 (community/research).
• Academic activity; no major commercial QC company verified.

Thailand

• Quantum Club Thailand (2026) / QTRic roadmap mentions for industrial adoption.
• Early-stage; no scaled vendors found.

Regional note

Southeast Asia quantum gravity remains Singapore-centric; neighbours are building literacy, PQC awareness, and research networks rather than hardware industries.

Russia (Eurasia note — sanctions context)

Include only as Eurasian context: scientifically active under heavy isolation; commercial global relevance constrained by sanctions. Do not treat Rosatom qubit claims as peer to IBM/Fujitsu/Origin commercial clouds without independent benchmarks.

Cross-cutting gaps & caveats (read before using figures)

1. Qubit counts from Origin Wukong-180, Jiuzhang 4.0, Zuchongzhi, QpiAI Indus, TII processors, Rosatom 72Q, OptQC/NTT million-qubit roadmaps, KRISS 2029 targets, and Fujitsu 1,000Q-2026 are company- or lab-asserted unless noted as peer-reviewed with careful scope (sampling tasks ≠ general QC).
2. China public funding ~$15B is a widely repeated estimate, actively disputed.
3. Zhongke Wanke and QuantaLab (Korea) were not verified as significant quantum companies under those names.
4. Alibaba / Baidu quantum labs: confirmed closed/donated (2023–24); do not list as active hardware programmes.
5. Huawei: software/simulator posture only in public sources.
6. Taiwan / SEA / Gulf commercial layers remain thin relative to China–Japan–Israel–Singapore.
7. Cutoff ~29 Sep 2026; Fujitsu 1,000Q install and Quantinuum Helios Singapore go-live may still be pending confirmation at this date.

Sources

Primary pages checked for organisations and programmes named in this brief. Qubit counts in the body remain company-asserted or reported, as labelled.

• India National Quantum Mission (Department of Science and Technology) and the 19 April 2023 cabinet note (PIB)
• Singapore National Quantum Office (gov.sg directory) · NRF reply on the National Quantum Strategy · EDB on the about S$300 million strategy
• Origin Quantum · SpinQ · QuantumCTek · CIQTEK · TuringQ · QBoson
• USTC quantum information · BAQIS · Tencent Quantum Lab
• Toshiba QKD

Companions: North America and Europe.