Italian Quantum Leap
IQM Quantum Computer goes live at Italy's CINECA, enhancing national research and compute infrastructure
Anonymous
Italy has switched on a 54-qubit quantum computer at CINECA, one of Europe's top supercomputing centers. The machine, called NOX, is now live and connected to the Leonardo supercomputer — one of the world's fastest classical systems. Business Wire reported that the Italian Research Centre on High Performance Computing, Big Data, and Quantum Computing (ICSC) led the inauguration at the DAMA Tecnopolo in Bologna.
NOX runs on IQM's Radiance 54 platform. It is the second IQM quantum computer to go live in Italy. The system is designed to tackle optimization, simulation, and machine learning problems that classical computers struggle with. IQM is also set to become a public company by mid-2026 through a merger with Real Asset Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: RAAQ).
NOX Plugs Into Leonardo to Enable Hybrid Computing
Leonardo, hosted at CINECA, clocks in at 238 petaflops of peak performance. It consistently ranks among the top five most powerful supercomputers on Earth. NOX now sits alongside it, creating a hybrid quantum-classical system. Researchers can use both machines together to run algorithms that neither could handle alone.
CINECA President Francesco Ubertini called NOX "the missing piece of our computational puzzle." He said the link between NOX and Leonardo moves Italy "from the 'quantum advantage' debate to 'quantum utility.'" That means real-world results, not just lab theory. Scientists plan to test hybrid algorithms in fields like materials discovery, drug research, and energy grid management.
Italy Bets on Owning Its Quantum Hardware, Not Renting It
IQM sells quantum hardware directly to customers — a model called on-premises deployment. The customer owns and controls the machine. This is different from IBM and other US providers, who offer cloud-based access. For Italy, ownership means sensitive research data never leaves national borders. Italian law now requires critical research infrastructure to stay physically inside the country.
IQM Co-CEO Dr. Mikko Välimäki said the NOX deployment is "a declaration of European capability." He added that the on-premises model ensures Italy's research data stays "under national jurisdiction." The project is backed by the EU's EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), which has channeled roughly €240 million into quantum technology through the National Quantum Science and Technology Institute (NQSTI).
54 Qubits Opens the Door to Real-World Problem Solving
A qubit is the basic unit of quantum computing — like a bit in a regular computer, but far more powerful. At 54 qubits, NOX sits in what researchers call the NISQ era — noisy intermediate-scale quantum. That means the machine is powerful enough to test real optimization problems, like logistics routing and chemical simulations, but not yet large enough for full error-free computing.
CINECA plans to open access to more than 100 research institutions and private companies. Italian small businesses will be able to run optimization simulations for green chemistry and new materials. Scientists expect this could cut research timelines from years to months. Critics in Italy's political opposition, however, argue that 54 qubits is still too small for high-stakes tasks like cryptography.
IQM Eyes Nasdaq Listing as Quantum Hardware Finds Its Market
IQM announced in January 2026 that it would merge with Real Asset Acquisition Corp (RAAQ) and list on Nasdaq by mid-2026. RAAQ CEO Jason Wallace said IQM's delivery of working systems like NOX is "exactly why we pursued this combination." He said the company is "moving out of the lab and into the data center." This positions IQM differently from earlier quantum IPOs like IonQ and Rigetti, which went public before generating hardware revenue.
The Bologna installation also strengthens the "Data Valley" of Italy's Emilia-Romagna region. Officials hope NOX will draw high-tech startups and keep Italian physicists and engineers from moving abroad. Italian Minister of University and Research Anna Maria Bernini called NOX a "strategic asset" for Italy and said it secures the country's place as a global hub for big data and artificial intelligence.
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