NEC Abandons Quantum Hardware Development Amid Commercial Viability Concerns

National Electronics Corporation (NEC), the Japanese tech giant, has halted its quantum computer project after nearly three decades of research and development. The company announced in March 2026 that it would no longer invest in developing hardware for quantum computers due to uncertainty over commercial viability.

NEC made a groundbreaking discovery in 1999 when it demonstrated the world's first superconducting solid-state qubit, paving the way for other companies like IBM and Google to develop multi-hundred-qubit processors. However, NEC realized that its investment in hardware development would not yield sufficient returns given the significant resources required.

Instead of abandoning quantum computing altogether, NEC plans to focus on software development, industrialization efforts, and proof-of-concept work for more specialized approaches like quantum annealing and quantum-inspired computing.