Toshiba (Quantum Technology Division) — vendor dossier

Toshiba (Quantum Technology Division)

QKD
T

Toshiba's quantum business runs across Toshiba Europe's Cambridge Research Laboratory (CRL) and Toshiba Corporation's R&D Center in Kawasaki, with Cambridge as the product-shipping hub. The Cambridge site, led by Andrew Shields, runs the commercial QKD product line — the Multiplexed MU and Long Distance LD systems — and the Twin-Field QKD research programme behind the Nature / Nature Photonics demonstrations; Kawasaki provides the corporate vehicle (taken private by Japan Industrial Partners in December 2023). Flagship references: the BT–Toshiba London quantum-secured metro and the JPMorgan Chase / Ciena 800 Gbps co-existence trial.

HQ
Cambridge, UK / Kawasaki, Japan
Founded
1991
Status
private
Last verified
Wed May 13 2026 08:00:00 GMT+0800 (Singapore Standard Time)

Timeline

202120222023202420252026202720282029today
2021-06
600 km Twin-Field QKD with dual-band phase stabilisation, Nature Photonics (Pittaluga et al.)
2021-10
BT and Toshiba announce commercial quantum-secured metro network across London — described by the partners as the world's first
2022-02
JPMorgan Chase / Toshiba / Ciena — QKD co-existing with 800 Gbps data channels on a single 70 km fibre, securing blockchain workload
2022-04
BT–Toshiba commercial London metro QKD trial launched with EY as anchor customer
2025-04
Coherent / Twin-Field QKD demonstrated on standard deployed telecom fibre — semiconductor receivers, no cryogenics; Nature paper
2025-12
Quantum Corridor + Toshiba — cross-state QKD over live commercial metro fibre (US Midwest) — announced as a first by the partners
2026
Transition Twin-Field / coherent QKD from lab to deployed national-scale telecom links; continued EuroQCI national testbed integration
Founded 1991 shipped milestone public roadmap

Current flagship

Multiplexed QKD System MU + Long Distance QKD System LD — commercial gen-2 (decoy-state BB84); Twin-Field reference platform in field trials

Milestones

  1. 2025-12
    Quantum Corridor + Toshiba — cross-state QKD over live commercial metro fibre (US Midwest) — announced as a first by the partners
    QKD press source ↗
  2. 2025-04
    Coherent / Twin-Field QKD demonstrated on standard deployed telecom fibre — semiconductor receivers, no cryogenics; Nature paper
    QKD paper source ↗
  3. 2022-04
    BT–Toshiba commercial London metro QKD trial launched with EY as anchor customer
    QKD press source ↗
  4. 2022-02
    JPMorgan Chase / Toshiba / Ciena — QKD co-existing with 800 Gbps data channels on a single 70 km fibre, securing blockchain workload
    QKD press source ↗
  5. 2021-10
    BT and Toshiba announce commercial quantum-secured metro network across London — described by the partners as the world's first
    QKD press source ↗
  6. 2021-06
    600 km Twin-Field QKD with dual-band phase stabilisation, Nature Photonics (Pittaluga et al.)
    QKD paper source ↗

Roadmap

  • 2026 Transition Twin-Field / coherent QKD from lab to deployed national-scale telecom links; continued EuroQCI national testbed integration source ↗

Capability details

QKD

Protocols
BB84, decoy-state, Twin-Field
Rate vs distance
MU: >40 kb/s @ 10 dB (~50 km), 30 dB loss budget; LD: 300 kb/s @ 10 dB, 150 km+; TF-QKD: 600 km lab demo
2 unverified fields
  • founded
  • roadmap

People

  • Andrew Shields — Head of Quantum Information Technologies, Toshiba Europe CRL (Cambridge) (since 1999) ↗
  • Taro Shimada — President & CEO, Toshiba Corporation (parent) (since 2022-03) ↗
  • Hiroaki Tezuka — Chief Technology Officer, Toshiba Corporation (since 2024-04) ↗
  • Marco Lucamarini — Principal Research Scientist, QKD systems (Cambridge) (since 2014) ↗
  • Mirko Pittaluga — Principal Research Scientist, Twin-Field QKD (Cambridge) (since 2018) ↗
  • James Dynes — Principal Research Scientist, QKD networking (Cambridge) (since 2005) ↗

References