Google Ibm Make Strides Toward Quantum Computers That May

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 4, 2025, 8:19 PM

google ibm make strides toward quantum computers that may

Updated on: July 28, 2024 / 7:00 PM EDT / CBS News This is an updated version of a story first published on Dec. 3, 2023. The original video can be viewed here. Artificial intelligence is the magic of the moment but this is a story about what's next, something incomprehensible. This past December, IBM announced an advance in an entirely new kind of computing - one that may solve problems in minutes that would take today's supercomputers millions of years.

That's the difference in quantum computing, a technology being developed at IBM, Google and others. It's named for quantum physics, which describes the forces of the subatomic realm. And as we told you last winter, the science is deep and we can't scratch the surface, but we hope to explain just enough so that you won't be blindsided by a breakthrough that... The quantum computer pushes the limits of knowledge--new science, new engineering-- all leading to this processor that computes with the atomic forces that created the universe. Dario Gil: I think this moment, it feels to us like the pioneers of the 1940s and 50s that were building the first digital computers. The decades-long quest to create a practical quantum computer is accelerating as major tech companies say they are closing in on designs that could scale from small lab experiments to full working systems within...

IBM laid out a detailed plan for a large-scale machine in June, filling in gaps from earlier concepts and declaring it was on track to build one by the end of the decade. “It doesn’t feel like a dream anymore,” Jay Gambetta, head of IBM’s quantum initiative, told Financial Times. “I really do feel like we’ve cracked the code and we’ll be able to build this machine by the end of the decade.” Google, which cleared one of the toughest technical obstacles late last year, says it is also confident it can produce an industrial-scale system within that time frame, while Amazon Web Services cautions that it... This decade could witness quantum computers that make today’s supercomputers look like pocket calculators. IBM’s “Starling” system promises to execute 100 million quantum operations by 2029, while Google pursues error-corrected quantum hardware on a similar timeline.

These aren’t incremental upgrades—they represent a fundamental shift in how we process information, potentially cracking encryption that protects your bank account while discovering new materials for better batteries. Building quantum computers requires overcoming physics challenges that make rocket science look straightforward. The technical hurdles resemble trying to conduct an orchestra where every musician exists in multiple states simultaneously. Current quantum machines struggle with “crosstalk”—unwanted interference between qubits that corrupts calculations faster than a TikTok trend dies. IBM’s 433-qubit Condor chip highlighted this problem so dramatically that engineers had to redesign fundamental components. Google’s approach focuses on error correction, essentially teaching quantum systems to catch and fix their own mistakes in real-time.

Their Willow chip demonstrates these error reduction techniques that could enable practical quantum applications. Tech giants are betting billions on quantum timelines that some experts consider optimistic. YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, New York – November 12, 2025 – At the annual Quantum Developer Conference, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today unveiled fundamental progress on its path to delivering both quantum advantage by the end of... “There are many pillars to bringing truly useful quantum computing to the world,” said Jay Gambetta, Director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow. “We believe that IBM is the only company that is positioned to rapidly invent and scale quantum software, hardware, fabrication, and error correction to unlock transformative applications. We are thrilled to announce many of these milestones today.”

IBM Quantum Computers Built to Scale Advantage IBM is unveiling IBM Quantum Nighthawk, its most advanced quantum processor yet and designed with an architecture to complement high-performing quantum software to deliver quantum advantage next year: the point at which a quantum... IBM researcher holds IBM Quantum Nighthawk chip (Credit: IBM) September 2025, Tech giants Google and IBM have announced significant progress toward building the first industrial-scale quantum computers, a milestone that could revolutionize computing as we know it. Both companies revealed advances in error correction, long seen as the principal barrier to scaling quantum systems. By refining algorithms that detect and fix qubit errors in real time, alongside introducing novel hardware designs, the firms have moved beyond the limitations of current prototypes, which typically operate with fewer than two...

These developments bring the industry closer to achieving machines that could handle complex calculations far beyond the capacity of classical supercomputers. The ultimate goal set by Google and IBM is to construct systems surpassing one million qubits, powerful enough to tackle challenges in drug discovery, materials science, climate modelling, and cryptography. While experts caution that commercial applications may still be several years away, the latest breakthroughs mark a decisive step in the global race for quantum supremacy. By bridging the gap between research prototypes and scalable industrial models, the companies are laying the foundation for what many consider the next computing revolution. Half a century ago, a factory in Poughkeepsie, New York, cranked out computer hardware. The profits from mainframes financed pampered employees, scientific research and a dividend that made International Business Machines the most valuable company on the planet.

Now, a diminished IBM gets most of its revenue from soft things: computer programs and business services. But it’s at work on a new kind of machine that could return Poughkeepsie to its glory days. This is where it will assemble quantum computers, the magical devices designed to tackle mathematical challenges that would overwhelm an ordinary computer. If quantum delivers on its promises, engineers will use it to make giant strides in the design of drugs, vaccines, batteries and chemicals. Last year Boston Consulting Group predicted that come 2040, quantum hardware and software providers will be taking in $90 billion to $170 billion of annual revenue. IBM has been part of this rapidly evolving technology since the turn of the century.

Leading its effort: Jay Gambetta, a 46-year-old physicist from Australia who oversees 3,000 employees on six continents doing research. He will not stint quantum, since he has spent his entire career in that field. Gambetta joined IBM’s Watson Research Center, 39 miles south of the Poughkeepsie factory, in 2011 after postdoc years at Yale and then on the faculty at the University of Waterloo. He says, “While I like teaching, really I wanted to build.” The race to build the first workable quantum computer has come alive, with industry leaders Google and IBM both claiming that they can produce full-scale systems within five years. Recent technical breakthroughs have revived confidence in what was once considered little more than fantasy.

"It doesn't feel like a dream anymore," says Jay Gambetta, who is heading up IBM's VP of Quantum. "I really do feel like we've cracked the code and we'll be able to build this machine by the end of the decade." This renewed optimism amongst Big Tech's quantum computing teams comes in spite of the formidable challenges that lay ahead of them.

Google Ibm Make Strides Toward Quantum Computers That May

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