*Pak Shen Choong (Universiti Putra Malaysia), Yung Szen Yap (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia) and Nurisya Mohd Shah (Universiti Putra Malaysia)

The Quantum Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, held from April 25–26, 2024, led to the formation of an ad hoc initiative to build a regional quantum ecosystem in Southeast Asia. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) hosted the first of these regional events, the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Quantum Summit 2025 from December 10–12, 2025. Officially endorsed by ASEAN, UTM extended invitations to representatives from the governments of ASEAN member states, the ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation (COSTI), the ASEAN Sub-Committee on Microelectronics and Information Technology (SCMIT), and the ASEAN High Performance Computing (HPC) Subcommittee, as well as the quantum community from the region to attend the Summit.

Aiming to increase awareness of quantum technologies within the region, the summit attracted close international partners and stakeholders to discuss topics in quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum sensing and metrology, quantum biology, and quantum policymaking. In particular, two plenary talks were delivered by the director of the Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology (QIQB) of The University of Osaka, Prof. Dr. Masahiro Kitagawa from Japan, and Mr. Ling Keok Tong, executive director of the National Quantum Office of Singapore. Both speakers shared insights into their respective national quantum ecosystems. In addition, the summit featured a visit to the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT), Singapore to reinforce cross-border cooperation, as well as three public forums addressing current quantum research in the region, the role of industry in growing a regional quantum ecosystem, and future strategies for ASEAN member states to co-develop quantum technologies.

The ASEAN Quantum Summit 2025 was a landmark event, being the first ASEAN Quantum Summit in the region and featuring an action plan workshop involving the ad hoc quantum community in Southeast Asia to identify challenges facing the regional quantum ecosystem and propose strategies to overcome them. With over 200 participants and speakers, and 2600 students participating in the summit, the 3-day event was officiated by the chief minister of Johor, YAB Dato’ Onn Hafiz Ghazi. The secretary-general of ASEAN, H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, also delivered a video message during the summit. Other distinguished attendees included the president of ERIA, H.E. Tetsuya Watanabe, the deputy secretary-general of the Ministry of Digital, YBrs. Tuan Shakib Ahmad Shakir Jamaludin, the Johor state executive councillor and chairman of the Johor State Committee for Education and Information, YB Tuan Aznan Tamin, and the head of the Science and Technology Division of the ASEAN Secretariat, Dr. Zurina Mokhtar (Fig. 15).

Despite the quantum divide among different ASEAN member states, the summit provided a platform to foster regional partnerships that encourage growth and progress toward developing quantum technologies within individual countries. Smaller-scale regional collaborations, such as quantum hackathons, online education academies, and student exchange programs were proposed to strengthen regional networks and enhance quantum readiness. This collaborative spirit was highlighted in a parallel session, during which winners of the Southeast Asia Quantum Hackathon 2025 (SEA Quantathon 2025) delivered short presentations on their quantum use cases, including drug discovery, early detection of Alzheimer’s disease, prediction of marine heatwave occurrences, and optimization of forest firefighting strategies. Students active in leadership roles for grassroots initiatives at their respective universities were also invited to participate in an anticipatory leadership workshop to discuss quantum diplomacy and foster regional collaborations to improve quantum literacy within their communities.

Meanwhile, the panellists for the forum on Opportunities and Future Outlooks Post-IYQ 2025 included Dr. Andrés Barreneche from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Dr. Mira L. Wolf-Bauwens from the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA), and Dr. Zurina Mokhtar, Head of the Science and Technology Division at the ASEAN Secretariat. The forum began by reflecting on developments throughout 2025. ASEAN had recently concluded the ASEAN Plan of Action on Science, Technology and Innovation (APASTI) 2016–2025, a 1-year guideline for science, technology, and innovation (STI) development among ASEAN member states. It was acknowledged that STI capacity remains uneven across the region and that there is a strong dependency on foreign technologies.

While high-performance computing (HPC) initiatives have been developed across ASEAN member states, relatively little emphasis has been placed on quantum computing and quantum technologies. Meanwhile, the global celebration of the 100th anniversary of quantum science discoveries aimed to raise awareness of quantum technologies and address the quantum divide within the fragmented global quantum ecosystem. Such fragmentation may slow technological development and increase the risk of ethical oversights in the use of quantum technologies.

Looking ahead, APASTI 2026–2035 aims to conduct comprehensive foresight and scoping analyses on quantum technologies across the region, with a focus on identifying common priorities among ASEAN member states, particularly in developing quantum-safe cybersecurity networks and upskilling quantum talent. Rather than viewing fragmentation in regional quantum progress solely as a challenge, it can also be seen as an opportunity to promote collaboration and sustain momentum toward trustworthy and responsible quantum technologies.

Adopting a bottom-up approach, the ad hoc SEA Quantum Network has connected regional quantum experts to form an expert network and has organized several regional initiatives, including SEA Quantathon 2025, QISTCon 2025, and the ASEAN Quantum Summit 2025. These efforts demonstrate the commitment of regional quantum scientists to building an inclusive and sustainable quantum community. Going forward, such multilateral dialogues are crucial for identifying available resources and underserved regions within ASEAN member states, thereby enabling the formulation of a coherent regional quantum roadmap (Fig. 16).

Within the ASEAN context, three key factors are essential: funding, impact, and trajectory. Using HPC as an example, regional efforts initially began with academic events and multilateral dialogues, which eventually led to the establishment of a shared HPC facility in Jakarta, Indonesia. For quantum technologies, further work is required to assess ASEAN’s positioning within the global quantum technology supply chain, particularly by encouraging the commercialization of research outcomes and strengthening intellectual property protection for quantum startups (Fig. 17).

The summit also witnessed the exchange of three memoranda of understanding (MoUs): between Malaysia and Singapore (UTM-AQSolotl), and between Malaysia and Japan (UTM-QIQB and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)-Global Research and Development Center for Business by Quantum-AI Technology (G-QuAT)). A quantum key distribution (QKD) demonstration was led by Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), UTM, Telekom Malaysia (TM), MIMOS Berhad, and ID Quantique (IDQ), spanning from UTM to the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) Iskandar Puteri Data Center (IPDC), covering a total distance of approximately 57 km. This achievement marked Malaysia’s commitment to developing a regional quantum-safe network, with the next phase extending to Forest Heights, the financial district of the JS-SEZ, and eventually to Singapore.

Overall, the ASEAN Quantum Summit 2025 strategically scaled up efforts and opportunities for ASEAN Member States to collaborate and co-shape the future of the regional quantum ecosystem during the global celebration of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ 2025), while ensuring equitable and inclusive access to quantum education and technologies across ASEAN.

ASEAN Quantum Summit 2025 was sponsored by strategic partners from

1. Tier II sponsors: the Johor state government, the Ministry of Digital Malaysia, and Quantinuum;

2. Tier III sponsors: Yaqumo, Open Quantum Institute (OQI), the Center for Quantum Technologies (CQT), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Global Research and Development Center for Business by Quantum-AI technology (G-QuAT), and the Quantum STrategic industry Alliance for Revolution (Q-STAR); and

3. Tier IV sponsors: ABEX, the Quantum Technology Research Initiative Collaboration (QTRic), the Program Management Unit for Human Resources and Institutional, Development, Research and Innovation (PMU-B), SpeQtral Zurich Instruments, and Oxford Instruments.

ASEAN Quantum Summit 2025 was supported by stakeholders from

1. The Malaysian government: The Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MoHE), the Ministry of Digital Malaysia, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Malaysia (MOSTI), the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), and the Malaysian Institute of Physics (IFM);

2. Local academia: UTMSpace, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM), Universiti Malaya Center of Excellence Quantum Information Science and Technology (UM CoE QIST), and Malaysia Quantum Information Initiative (MyQI); and

3. International stakeholders and close collaborators, i.e., the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the National Institute of Metrology (Thailand), Nicolaus Copernicus University (Poland), the Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology (QIQB), The University of Osaka (Japan), the National Quantum Office (Singapore), the Quantum Technology Research Initiative Collaboration (QTRic, Thailand), the Quantum Computing Society of the Philippines (QCSP, Philippines), VNQuantum (Vietnam), the Indonesian Quantum Initiative (IQI, Indonesia) and BRIN-Q, Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA, Switzerland), the Open Quantum Institute (OQI, Switzerland), and AQSolotl (Singapore).

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