Shanghai Startup Zhongqi Wuliang Unveils Server-Rack Neutral-Atom Quantum Computer at WAIC 2026

Overview

A Shanghai quantum computing startup has shown off a machine designed to look and fit like ordinary data-center equipment rather than laboratory apparatus. At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026 in Shanghai, Zhongqi Wuliang formally unveiled Qinghe No. 1, a neutral-atom quantum computer engineered to fit directly into a standard data-center server rack, according to Quantum Computing Report. The Quantum Insider described the unveiling as an effort to move quantum hardware beyond specialized laboratories and toward commercial computing infrastructure, citing Chinese tech media reporting on the announcement.

What We Know

Zhongqi Wuliang was founded in 2025 and was incubated from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, according to The Quantum Insider. The company was spun out of that institute and founded by Lu Xudong, according to Quantum Computing Report.

Qinghe No. 1 uses optical tweezers to trap individual atoms in a vacuum chamber, laser cooling to bring them to micro-kelvin temperatures, and Rydberg blockade gates to perform two-qubit operations, according to Quantum Computing Report. That approach eliminates the need for the external liquid-helium cooling systems that superconducting quantum architectures require. The Quantum Insider explained the broader neutral-atom approach this way: individual atoms are held in place by laser light, and because every atom is naturally identical, the architecture avoids the manufacturing variations that can affect solid-state qubits.

According to Quantum Computing Report, Zhongqi Wuliang’s hardware integration was accelerated through supply chain partner Xuanxiang Technology, which recently commercialized a metasurface chip capable of generating large-scale optical tweezer arrays.

Qinghe No. 1 is not the company’s first system. Quantum Computing Report reports that Zhongqi Wuliang previously built Hanyuan-1, a 100-qubit, room-temperature neutral-atom system that occupied three equipment racks, in October 2025, followed by Hanyuan-2, a dual-core cabinet-style system operating below 7 kW, in May 2026. The same outlet notes that Google Quantum AI launched a dedicated neutral-atom research program of its own in Boulder, Colorado, situating Zhongqi Wuliang’s work within a wider industry push toward neutral-atom architectures alongside the more established superconducting-circuit and trapped-ion approaches, as The Quantum Insider also noted.

Citing Pandaily’s reporting on the unveiling, The Quantum Insider wrote that the company’s second-generation machine is “the first quantum computer concept designed in a standard server form factor for direct installation in existing data center racks,” and that the company aims to reach computational scales capable of supporting meaningful commercial workloads within five years, though it has not disclosed specific technical milestones or performance targets for reaching that point.

What We Don’t Know

Zhongqi Wuliang has not yet published peer-reviewed metrics for Qinghe No. 1, including independent qubit counts, two-qubit gate fidelities, or coherence times, according to Quantum Computing Report. That means the system’s real-world performance, and how it compares to competing neutral-atom, superconducting, or trapped-ion machines, remains unverified outside the company’s own claims. Neither source cited here specifies an exact calendar date for the unveiling beyond placing it at WAIC 2026, and neither discloses pricing, unit economics, or a timeline for any commercial deployment beyond the five-year horizon the company has described for reaching meaningful workload scale.