Taiwan NSTC Prepares 150-Qubit Quantum Computer RFP
Key Takeaways
RFP timing: DIGITIMES reported on September 18, 2026 Taiwan is moving closer to a formal request for proposal on the national hybrid host.
Hardware floor: A February 2026 NCHC request for information set a minimum of 150 qubits at the Tainan Cloud Computing Center over five years.
Budget and primes: DIGITIMES separately recorded an NSTC system-project budget of NT$3.76 billion ($116.58 million), with bids reserved for Taiwan-based primes.
Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council is moving closer to a request for proposal for a national hybrid quantum computer after a February 2026 information request from the National Center for High-performance Computing set a floor of 150 qubits and a five-year build at the Tainan Science Park Cloud Computing Center. DIGITIMES reported the step on September 18, 2026, as officials work from an NT$3.76 billion ($116.58 million / €102 million) system-project budget and a policy line seeking local primes in technical cooperation with global suppliers.
Hybrid Host Requirements in Tainan
The Request for Information on Hybrid Quantum Computer Procurement, issued under NSTC mandate in February 2026 and posted by NCHC on March 10, 2026, asked vendors for market data ahead of a later RFP. The package covers the quantum host, control and readout racks, vibration isolation, mechanical and electrical plant, network links, and information-security controls. Responses were due in the window of February 23, 2026 to March 16, 2026. The English RFI states the exercise is reference gathering under Article 34 of the Government Procurement Act and is not itself an offer to buy.
Hardware must land on the second floor of the NCHC Cloud Computing Center in Tainan Science Park and couple to the center’s NANO4 and NANO5 supercomputers, listed in the Chinese RFI as Jingchuang 26 and Jingchuang 27. A cloud operations platform is mandatory. Joint operations and maintenance run in year three, with NCHC taking the lead from year four. The RFI does not lock a qubit modality. It asks responders for QPU characteristics, decoherence times, single- and two-qubit gate fidelity, speed, noise limits, cryogenics, vacuum, and suspension design.
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Qubit floor | No fewer than 150 physical qubits, complete hardware implementation |
| Site | 2F computer room, NCHC Cloud Computing Center, Tainan Science Park |
| Classical hosts | Required integration with NCHC supercomputers NANO4 and NANO5 |
| Schedule and payment | Five-year implementation; percentage-of-completion payments |
| Operations | Joint O&M in year three; NCHC leads O&M from year four; cloud platform required |
| Bid rules | Taiwan-based prime required; local technical-cooperation plan mandatory; Mainland-origin goods and capital barred |
Budget Partners and Bid Rules
DIGITIMES reported on September 4, 2026 NSTC had budgeted NT$3.76 billion ($116.58 million / €102 million) for the quantum-computer system project. A public NSTC line item matching the figure was not located. The same outlet’s September 18 story framed the coming RFP as a hunt for win-win ties with global suppliers. The February RFI is stricter on who may bid. Foreign manufacturers, Mainland China manufacturers, third-region firms with Mainland capital, and Mainland-capital firms in Taiwan are barred as primes. Goods and labor may not originate in Mainland China, and Mainland brands are excluded. A technical cooperation plan with Taiwan manufacturers is mandatory, so any overseas stack would enter through a local prime.
The host sits inside Phase 2 of the National Strategy for High-Speed Quantum Computing, unveiled on March 6, 2026 with President William Lai and NSTC Minister Wu Cheng-wen. Four tracks cover a northern subsystem verification platform, a southern high-performance quantum computing center, industrial supply chains, and international software and systems work. The northern platform is the separate IQM five-qubit superconducting rack at the Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute in Hsinchu Science Park, used to test domestic parts.
DIGITIMES reported on September 10, 2026 the first National Quantum Team program is due to close in December 2026, with the second-stage research effort set to open in January 2027. The 150-qubit Tainan host is a procurement floor, not a delivered machine and not a logical-qubit target.
Bottom Line
NCHC is converting a 150-qubit Tainan hybrid-host RFI into an RFP under an NT$3.76 billion NSTC budget.
Find out more here.
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