Development Bank of Japan Inc. (DBJ) received a Merit Award by the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) *1 for outstanding work in the category of Technology Development. In selecting DBJ for the award, ADFIAP cited the Investment in Qolab, Inc. (head office in Los Angeles, U.S.A.; CEO Alan Ho; hereinafter referred to as "the Company") as "Aiming for Development and Social Implementation of Quantum Computers." The 2025 awards were presented at the ADFIAP General Meeting held 23-25 April 2025.
The ADFIAP Awards recognize the work of development finance institutions with distinguished achievements in the Asia-Pacific region. The aim of the awards is to publicize deals and projects which are both outstanding and instructive, as well as to share financial methods and techniques.
The Company is a startup engaged in the research and development of superconducting quantum computers. It aims to execute quantum chemical calculations and simulations using quantum computers with large-scale integration of high-quality superconducting qubits with best-in-class coherence and reliability, and ultimately to realize fault-tolerant quantum computers (FTQC) capable of large-scale quantum computation.
The Company is a superconducting quantum computer development company founded by John Martinis (CTO) *2, who led and realized quantum supremacy at Google in 2019. It is developing commercial quantum computers, etc., together with companies such as Applied Materials (U.S.A.), which has world-leading semiconductor fabrication technologies.
Quantum computers are expected to generate $450 billion to $850 billion in value in various fields such as materials development, healthcare, financial services, cyber security, and logistics optimization by 2050*3. The Japanese government is making efforts to drastically strengthen research and development of domestic quantum computers and to provide comprehensive support to industry under the "Vision of Quantum Future Society" (formulated in 2022). However, since further improvements in engineering capabilities are required for the development of quantum computers, especially related to hardware, we believe it is essential to flexibly utilize both domestic and international technologies and advanced devices to improve the domestic business development environment*4.
DBJ will accelerate business development of the Company in collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), which has world-class superconducting electronics manufacturing technology, other Japanese research institutes, and leading domestic business companies with related technologies. DBJ will support Japan's position as a foundry for superconducting quantum computers and the early realization of the social implementation of quantum computers.
*1ADFIAP
| Official name | Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific | |
| Establishment | October 1976 (headquarters: Manila, Philippines) | |
| Membership | 97 institutions in 42 countries and regions (as of April 21, 2025) |
*2 "Quantum supremacy using a programmable superconducting processor," Nature 574, pp. 505-510 (2019)
*3 Boston Consulting Group (2021.07.21), "What Happens When 'If' Turns to 'When' in Quantum Computing?"https://www.bcg.com/ja-jp/publications/2021/building-quantum-advantage（Open in new window）
*4 Please refer to the report "The Horizon and Future Prospects of Quantum Computers" available on the DBJ website.
*5 「量子コンピューターの地平線とこれからの展望」("The Horizon and Future Prospects of Quantum Computers"; Japanese only)
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