[Report] A Major Quantum Technology Market Opens... Quantum Korea 2025 Kicks Off

57 Global Companies Including QuEra, IBM, and QBLOX Participate in Exhibition
"Event Grows in Scale and Quality, Significant Business Results Expected"

"Last year, we built a 250-qubit quantum computer, but now, just one year later, we are building systems with more than 2,000 qubits."

On the afternoon of the 24th, at the 'Quantum Korea 2025' event held at the aT Center in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, Minho Kwon, head of the laser systems division at QuEra, an American company, said, "The pace of quantum technology advancement is accelerating," making this remark.

A model of a superconducting-based 50-qubit quantum computer exhibited by the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) at the 'Quantum Korea 2025' event, which opened on the 24th at the aT Center in Yangjae-dong, Seoul. Photo by Kim Jonghwa

QuEra, headquartered in Boston, USA, is a global company with numerous core technologies in quantum computing. Last year, it supplied a state-of-the-art 250-qubit quantum computer to the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan. According to Dr. Kwon, the company is now equipped with systems capable of building quantum computers with at least 2,000 qubits.

This is QuEra's second consecutive year participating in Quantum Korea. Dr. Kwon said, "Some of the promising companies that participated last year are no longer visible. As companies that are technologically lagging are being filtered out, the pace of technological progress is accelerating even further," and emphasized, "As the fundamental functions of the market begin to operate, the market has already entered a competitive phase."

This year's event, held over three days until the 26th, drew significant attention as leading global quantum technology companies participated in large numbers. World-class quantum technology companies such as IonQ, Rigetti Computing, IBM, QuEra, and Quantum Machines from the United States, as well as QBLOX from the Netherlands representing Europe, showcased their technologies and visions while engaging actively with visitors.

The control systems developed and sold by QBLOX, a company specializing in quantum computer control systems, are already in use at major Korean research institutions such as the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI). A representative from QBLOX said, "This is our second time participating, and I was very impressed by the high level of interest Koreans have in quantum computing. I was also surprised that even general visitors, not just businesspeople, are familiar with QBLOX."

Shin Junghwan, head of the KT Quantum Tech research team, is explaining KT's post-quantum cryptography (PQC) system and quantum key distribution device (QKD) method. Photo by Kim Jonghwa

South Korea's three major telecommunications companies?SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus?also set up large booths to demonstrate their technologies. In particular, KT, the domestic leader in post-quantum cryptography (PQC), attracted visitors by allowing them to operate quantum communication equipment themselves, making it easy to understand the characteristics of quantum cryptography and to experience how the quantum cryptography network operates securely even when threats such as hacking occur.

Shin Junghwan, head of the KT Quantum Tech research team, explained, "While other domestic competitors import their quantum key distribution devices (QKD) from overseas, KT uses devices developed in Korea. The advantage is that we can respond immediately with technical solutions if any abnormal situation arises."

Domestic partner companies of global firms were also busy with business consultations. The large booth of Megazone Cloud, a solution specialist and a partner for the Asia-Pacific and Japan regions of AWS (Amazon Web Services), which supplies cloud services to data centers worldwide, was crowded with visitors all day.

Park Wonjoo, head of the Megazone Cloud Alliance Cooperation Group, said, "We have set up a booth every year during the three years that Quantum Korea has been held, and it seems that the scale of the event has improved both quantitatively and qualitatively each year. Although it has only been one day since the event started, the number of companies requesting solutions has increased compared to last year."

Science and ICT Minister Sangim Yoo visited the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science booth at the 'Quantum Korea 2025' event, which opened on the 24th at the aT Center in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, and listened to explanations about the production of a 50-qubit quantum computer with Director Hoseong Lee. Photo by Jonghwa Kim

Academic institutions and government-funded research institutes also set up booths and actively participated in the event. Major domestic university quantum research organizations?including the Quantum Information Laboratory at KAIST, the Quantum Business Group at Yonsei University, the Quantum Computing Center at Seoul National University, and the Quantum Information Research Institute at Sungkyunkwan University?as well as government-funded institutes such as the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), and ETRI, showcased a variety of research achievements.

In particular, KRISS captivated visitors by exhibiting a model of a superconducting-based 50-qubit quantum computer. Hoseong Lee, Director of KRISS, said, "Once the superconducting-based 50-qubit quantum computer is completed next year, Korea will be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with others in the field of quantum technology. We have already received a fair number of business inquiries. Although it has only been one day, the overall atmosphere of the event is positive, so we expect to achieve significant business results after the event."

Amidst the presence of large corporations, domestic startups with their own technologies also made a strong showing. With support from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, five startups?Quantum Enhancement, OAQ, Quanmit, AnjaTech, and Bana Material Lab?set up a joint booth. Nam Sook Lee, head of the Quantum Industry Team in the Advanced Industry Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, explained, "We brought together Seoul-based startups with quantum-related technologies to create the 'Seoul Quantum Tech Special Pavilion.' We are actively supporting technology companies to foster the quantum industry, which will drive future industrial competitiveness."

Quantum Enhancement, a startup specializing in communications post-processing algorithms and located in Yongsan, Seoul, was established in July last year and has currently applied for a technology guarantee fund. Boseong Kim, head of the Quantum Enhancement Research Institute, said, "Although our company was established only recently, we are quite confident in our technology. Even just observing the technologies and trends of prominent companies at the event is proving to be a great help."