The governments of Singapore and Japan have signed a landmark Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on quantum science, technology, and innovation, marking Singapore’s first international quantum-specific agreement at the government-to-government level. Signed by Singapore’s Minister for Digital Development and Information, Josephine Teo, and Japan’s Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy, Onoda Kimi, the agreement establishes a bilateral framework to accelerate the development of a resilient quantum ecosystem across Southeast Asia and East Asia.

The MOC outlines eight priority areas for cooperation, including shared research infrastructure, security policy dialogue, standards and governance, and cross-border pilot project deployments. A central objective of the partnership is to facilitate academia-private sector interactions and private funding initiatives, ensuring that breakthroughs in quantum sensing, communications, and computing can transition effectively from laboratories to commercial use cases.

Coinciding with the intergovernmental agreement, Japanese hardware startup Yaqumo Inc. and Singapore-based quantum software specialist Entropica Labs signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to accelerate the development of fault-tolerant quantum computing (FTQC). Witnessed by representatives from both governments, the collaboration focuses on the hardware-software co-design of cold-atom quantum computers.

The technical partnership aims to integrate Yaqumo’s scalable cold-atom architecture—which utilizes neutral atoms in optical lattices—with Entropica Labs’ expertise in quantum error correction (QEC), transpilation, and circuit optimization. By developing hardware-aware software specifically tailored to the unique connectivity and gate operations of cold-atom systems, the companies seek to reduce the physical qubit overhead required for error correction. This collaboration represents a tactical alignment between Japan’s growing neutral-atom hardware sector and Singapore’s established quantum software and algorithm research hub.

Source：https://quantumcomputingreport.com/singapore-and-japan-form-strategic-quantum-alliance-yaqumo-and-entropica-labs-announce-hardware-software-partnership/