The 2026 World Internet Conference Leading Science and Technology Awards ceremony took place on November 2 in Wuzhen, Zhejiang. The event recognized 20 distinct technological achievements across various frontier sectors, including quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and aerospace information.
Among the awarded projects is the Jiuzhang 4.0 optical quantum computing prototype. This system, developed by a research team from the University of Science and Technology of China in collaboration with several national laboratories and universities, features 1024 quantum squeezed state inputs and an 8176-mode programmable architecture.
The Jiuzhang 4.0 prototype successfully manipulated and detected up to 3050 photons, setting a new world record in optical quantum information technology. The machine solves Gaussian boson sampling problems at a speed 10 to the power of 54 times faster than the world's fastest supercomputers.
The Jiuzhang series utilizes photons to encode qubits and has been evolving since its inception in 2020. Following the Jiuzhang 2.0 and 3.0 iterations, the project continues to demonstrate quantum supremacy through advanced photon manipulation and measurement techniques.
