Dutch–Japanese funding boost for unconventional computing research Computing with light and quantum computers using magnetic qubits As conventional computing technologies approach their fundamental physical limits, breakthroughs in computing performance will require entirely new technological paradigms. To accelerate such developments, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) have jointly awarded multi-million-euro funding to five collaborative research projects on unconventional computing technologies. The programme further strengthens Dutch–Japanese cooperation in cutting-edge science and high-tech innovation. Among the funded projects is one led by Allard Mosk of Utrecht University. A second project includes a key role for Rembert Duine, also of Utrecht University. Computing with light: faster, more efficient processing Modern computer chips rely on billions of electronic switches to process information. But as computing demands continue to grow, this technology is approaching its limits in terms of speed, energy consumption, and heat generation. In the OPERA project, led by Utrecht University physicist Allard Mosk, researchers will investigate how light can take over some of the most demanding computational tasks. Together with partners in the Netherlands and Japan, Mosk will develop a new generation of photonic technologies that use light to transmit and process information. By performing calculations directly as light travels through a system, tasks such as image recognition and 3D reconstruction could be carried out almost instantly and with far less energy than conventional computer chips require. The team will focus on applications in medical imaging, where rapid processing of large amounts of data is essential. Quantum computers with magnetic qubits Virtually all quantum computers developed today rely on superconducting qubits, in which quantum information is stored in two distinct energy levels of a superconducting circuit. An emerging alternative is the use of magnetic qubits, where quantum information is encoded in the orientation of