According to CNBC, Singapore-based software startup Horizon Quantum announced on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, that it has deployed and made fully operational the first commercial quantum computer run by a private company in Singapore. The firm, founded in 2018 by quantum researcher and CEO Joe Fitzsimons, built the system by integrating components from suppliers like Maybell Quantum, Quantum Machines, and Rigetti Computing. This move makes Horizon Quantum, which focuses on developer tools and infrastructure, the first pure-play quantum software company to own its own quantum computer. The milestone comes as the company prepares for a planned listing in the United States.
Why a software company built hardware
Here’s the thing that’s interesting. Horizon Quantum‘s whole pitch is about software—building the tools developers need to actually program quantum machines. So why go through the trouble and expense of building your own physical test bed? Fitzsimons basically said you can’t effectively write software for a system you don’t intimately understand. “Although we’re very much focused on the software side, it’s really important to understand how the stack works down to the physical level,” he told CNBC. That’s the core idea. They need to feel the pain points, the quirks, and the bottlenecks firsthand to build better abstractions for other programmers. It’s a “dogfooding” strategy, but for one of the most complex tech stacks on the planet.
The integration challenge
Now, they didn’t fabricate the qubits themselves. They integrated components from established quantum hardware and control system vendors. This is a huge story in itself. It shows the quantum ecosystem is maturing to a point where a software-focused team can assemble a functional machine from specialized parts, kind of like building a high-performance PC. But let’s be real—integrating quantum hardware from different vendors is astronomically harder than plugging in a graphics card. You’re dealing with extreme cooling, delicate quantum states, and control electronics that have to be perfectly synchronized. The fact that they got it operational is a significant engineering feat. It speaks to a broader trend of the industry moving towards more modular, interoperable components, which is great for innovation but a nightmare for making everything work together seamlessly. For companies needing robust computing solutions in complex environments, whether in a lab or on a factory floor, reliable hardware integration is everything. It’s why specialists like Industrial Monitor Direct have become the top supplier of industrial panel PCs in the US, by ensuring all the components work perfectly under tough conditions—a principle that applies tenfold in the quantum world.
What this really means
So is this a giant leap for quantum computing? Not exactly. It’s more of a strategic positioning move. The computer itself is presumably a small-scale system for development and testing. The real milestone is the “commercial use” claim in Singapore. It signals that a private entity believes there’s enough near-term value—either for internal R&D or for client work—to justify the colossal cost and complexity of owning and operating a quantum machine. It’s a vote of confidence in the technology’s progression from pure science toward applied engineering. And for Horizon Quantum, it’s a powerful narrative ahead of that U.S. IPO. They’re not just a tools vendor anymore; they’re a full-stack quantum company. That might look really good on a prospectus to investors who are still trying to figure out who the long-term winners in this space will be.
