NEC’s headquarters in Tokyo, photographed in 2006. Archival company context for the hardware-exit report.Image: NEC Super Tower.jpg · KW~jawiki at Japanese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Full image credit
One of quantum computing’s earliest pioneers has reportedly stopped building the hardware. Jiji Press reported on September 7 that NEC ended quantum-computer hardware development at the end of March 2026, citing people familiar with the matter. The report linked the decision to the difficult path toward practical use and profitability.[1]
NEC was no latecomer. Its researchers demonstrated coherent control of a in a landmark 1999 Nature paper, helping establish an approach still central to the field. But a scientific head start does not guarantee that a company will keep financing the engineering needed to turn research into a product.[2]
The reported exit is narrower than abandoning quantum technology. Jiji Press says NEC will continue technology development involving quantum mechanics. Meanwhile, Fujitsu’s roadmap targets more than 10,000 superconducting qubits and 250 by fiscal 2030. Logical qubits protect information using multiple ; these remain future targets.[1][3]
NEC’s Tokyo headquarters in a 2012 archive photograph. The reported hardware-development decision took effect in March 2026. Resize preserving source aspect ratio; WebP conversion; no additional crop, extension or scene alteration.Image: NEC Super Tower 2012-02-11.JPG · Asanagi · CC0 1.0Full image credit
That contrast raises a business question. As hardware programs grow, fabrication, cooling, control electronics and error correction all have to improve together. NEC may simply be reallocating resources. Treating its decision as evidence that the entire industry is consolidating would go beyond what one company’s withdrawal establishes.
The useful lesson is about staying power. Quantum’s next phase depends on repeatable machines and customers who can put them to work, alongside better physics. IonQ’s manufacturing push offers a contrasting bet: spend more on the production chain now, then prove that the investment can support a durable hardware business.
