China launches photonic quantum computer on global cloud planform

China has launched the Tianyan-P2000, a new photonic quantum computer connected to the Tianyan quantum cloud platform, enabling global online access for researchers.

Developed by China Telecom Quantum Group with partners under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the system marks a step forward in cloud-based quantum computing and is claimed to offer quantum advantage using photonic technology.

Unlike superconducting systems, the photonic computer operates at room temperature and features lower noise, longer coherence times, and easier integration with fiber-optic networks.

The system can control 2,682 photons and has demonstrated extremely fast processing speeds in benchmark tests, completing complex calculations in microseconds that would take classical supercomputers far longer.

Built on technology related to Jiuzhang 4.0, the platform is already being used in fields such as drug discovery, data analysis, and machine vision, with users in over 60 countries.