Superion 256, the latest quantum computer unveiled by IonQ this month, is coming to South Korea for the first time. SDT, a Korean quantum technology company, has signed a strategic partnership with IonQ and plans to deploy the Superion 256 at a hybrid quantum-classical data center inside a domestic medical institution.
SDT said on Sept. 22 that it had signed a strategic partnership with IonQ covering quantum computing manufacturing and systems integration in the Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) region. Under the agreement, IonQ will supply SDT with the Superion 256 and silicon-vacancy (SiV) quantum memory modules. Both products are entering Korea for the first time.
The Superion 256 is IonQ's sixth-generation quantum computing platform, unveiled this month. SDT plans to deploy it at a hybrid quantum-classical data center at a domestic cancer center to be established later, using it for medical data and bio-medical research. Details on the cancer center and the project will be disclosed later.
The partnership extends beyond bringing in a quantum computer to domestic manufacturing. SDT will build a new quantum manufacturing and systems integration facility dedicated to IonQ in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. The company will receive technology and know-how from IonQ to prepare commercial production of SiV quantum memory modules, and will also take part in the assembly, integration and commissioning of quantum computing systems. As a result, Korea is expected to gain a manufacturing base that produces core quantum computer components and assembles and integrates completed systems.
Through the partnership, SDT has secured a strategic position that could see it develop into IonQ's preferred manufacturing partner in the APJ region. As IonQ expands its APJ business, SDT has established a basis for first discussing business opportunities should new manufacturing demand arise in areas such as quantum memory and related component production and the assembly, integration and commissioning of quantum computing systems. SDT aims to build a medium- to long-term manufacturing and systems integration pipeline tied to IonQ's APJ expansion, moving beyond supplying a single system.
"This partnership is an important turning point for SDT to enter the manufacturing ecosystem of the global quantum industry in earnest," SDT CEO Yoon Ji-won said. "Through cooperation with IonQ, we will secure world-class quantum manufacturing and systems integration capabilities and expand this to various quantum technologies and partners."
