Mitsubishi Chemical and AIST Partner with Connected DMV to Advance Quantum Materials Discovery
New Global Industry Challenge Use Case Explores AI-Enhanced Quantum Simulation for Next-Generation Materials
Connected DMV, the operator of Quantum World Congress, today announced that Mitsubishi Chemical Group and Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) will sponsor a new advanced materials use case in the 2026 Global Industry Challenge (GIC), inviting global teams to explore how quantum computing and generative AI techniques can accelerate the discovery of next-generation materials.
The use case will focus on the Generative Quantum Eigensolver (GQE) — an emerging hybrid approach that combines generative machine learning with quantum simulation techniques to explore vast materials design spaces more efficiently than traditional computational methods.
Hosted by Connected DMV, the Global Industry Challenge brings together researchers, developers, startups, and industry leaders from around the world to collaborate on solving high-value industry problems using quantum computing and adjacent technologies such as artificial intelligence.
“Materials discovery is one of the most promising areas for near-term quantum advantage,” said George Thomas, President & CEO of Connected DMV. “By bringing together global innovators and real industry use cases, the Global Industry Challenge helps accelerate
A New Frontier in Materials Discovery
Advanced materials underpin many of the technologies that define modern society—from semiconductors and electronics to energy storage, pharmaceuticals, and advanced manufacturing.
However, designing new materials is an extraordinarily complex scientific challenge. Even small molecular systems can involve quantum interactions that become computationally infeasible for classical computers to simulate with high accuracy.
The Generative Quantum Eigensolver (GQE) approach aims to address this challenge by combining:
Generative machine learning models that propose candidate molecular structures
Quantum eigensolvers capable of evaluating quantum mechanical properties
Iterative optimization workflows that explore large design spaces more efficiently
Participants in the Global Industry Challenge will investigate how GQE techniques can improve quantum simulation accuracy and accelerate the discovery of new materials, including those relevant to extreme ultraviolet semiconductor manufacturing and advanced chemical systems.
The Technical Challenge
Teams will explore how AI-enhanced quantum eigensolvers can be integrated into a Quantum Materials Informatics platform, enabling more efficient exploration of molecular and materials design spaces.
Participants will focus on developing approaches that can:
Improve simulation accuracy for molecular and materials properties
Efficiently generate candidate molecular and structural configurations
Benchmark quantum simulation performance against classical computational chemistry methods
Identify where hybrid quantum-classical approaches can accelerate materials discovery
Finalist teams will run their solutions across leading quantum computing systems through qBraid, with access to hardware architectures including IBM, D-Wave, IonQ, QuEra, Rigetti, IQM, and GPU-accelerated simulation environments.
The goal is to evaluate where emerging quantum methods can begin to unlock new capabilities in materials design and chemical simulation—two areas widely seen as among the most promising applications for quantum computing.
Global Collaboration in Action
The Global Industry Challenge has rapidly become one of the most ambitious international programs focused on applying quantum technologies to real industry problems.
The inaugural 2025 Challenge attracted more than 600 innovators from over 60 countries, culminating in live winner announcements on the main stage at Quantum World Congress 2025.
Participants included startups, academic researchers, industry professionals, and students collaborating across six continents to deliver solutions for challenges sponsored by organizations including The World Bank Group, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and MITRE.
By connecting real industry problems with a global community of innovators, the program accelerates both practical quantum applications and the development of the next generation of quantum talent.
Looking Ahead
The 2026 Global Industry Challenge (GIC), will feature multiple industry tracks spanning advanced materials, energy infrastructure, and dynamic systems forecasting, each defined by a leading industry or government partner.
Teams from around the world will form global collaborations, develop technical proposals, and execute their solutions across a three-phase program running from March through July 2026, with winners announced live at Quantum World Congress 2026 in College Park, Maryland.
Hosted virtually and open to participants worldwide, the program continues to expand the global quantum ecosystem while pushing the boundaries of what emerging computational technologies can achieve in real-world applications.
Innovators interested in participating can learn more and register through the Global Industry Challenge platform.