Ibm And Cisco Want To Network Fault Tolerant Quantum Computers

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 4, 2025, 8:34 PM

ibm and cisco want to network fault tolerant quantum computers

NOVEMBER 20, 2025 – YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NY and SAN JOSE, CA -- Today, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced an intention to collaborate on the groundwork for networked distributed quantum computing, to... By combining IBM’s leadership in building useful quantum computers with Cisco’s quantum networking innovations, the companies plan to explore how to scale large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers beyond IBM’s ambitious roadmap. Additionally, they will work to solve fundamental challenges towards a quantum computing internet. Within five years, IBM and Cisco will aim to demonstrate the first proof-of-concept for a network that combines individual, large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers, enabling them to work together to run computations over tens to... This network would allow problems to be run with potentially trillions of quantum gates, the fundamental entangling operations required for transformative quantum applications such as massive optimization problems, or the design of complex materials... “At IBM, our roadmap includes plans to deliver large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers before the end of the decade,” said Jay Gambetta, Director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow.

“By working with Cisco to explore how to link multiple quantum computers like these together into a distributed network, we will pursue how to further scale quantum’s computational power. And as we build the future of compute, our vision will push the frontiers of what quantum computers can do within a larger high-performance computing architecture.” "Getting quantum computing to useful scale is not just about building bigger individual machines, it is also about connecting them together,” said Vijoy Pandey, GM/SVP at Outshift by Cisco. “IBM is building quantum computers with aggressive roadmaps for scale-up, and we are bringing quantum networking that enables scale-out. Together, we are solving this as a complete system problem, including the hardware to connect quantum computers, the software to run computations across them, and the networking intelligence that makes them work." Scaling a Distributed Quantum Computing Network

IBM and Cisco’s joint announcement this week is easy to misread as another “quantum + internet” headline. It isn’t. The two companies are laying out a step‑by‑step program to turn stand‑alone fault‑tolerant machines into a fabric: first a proof‑of‑concept linking multiple fault‑tolerant computers within five years, then a broader, distributed network in the... That’s more than ambition; it’s a system architecture with timelines, components, and explicit research gaps. IBM’s own blog frames the idea in one sentence I think is spot‑on: “Fault‑tolerant quantum computing may be our present goal, but it’s just part of the IBM vision for the future of computing.”... At each step, the point isn’t just more qubits; it’s connected qubits.

The connective tissue here is a device IBM calls the quantum networking unit, or QNU. If a quantum processor (the QPU) is your server, the QNU is its network interface – an adapter that converts the “stationary” microwave‑domain qubits living on a superconducting chip into “flying” qubits you can... For short hops, those links can sit inside or between cryostats; for building‑scale and metro‑scale distances, you need a much nastier ingredient: microwave–optical transducers that faithfully translate quantum states from the cryogenic microwave world... IBM and Cisco call out those transducers, plus the software stack above them, as the critical inventions for their first demonstration around 2030. Cisco’s role is exactly where you’d expect it: the network. Over the past year the company has been assembling a quantum‑networking portfolio that looks less like a moonshot and more like the early scaffolding of a product line: a quantum network entanglement chip that...

In this collaboration, Cisco’s fabric is meant to ferry entanglement to whatever QNUs the algorithm needs, while IBM focuses on the error‑corrected compute on each end. It’s scale‑out, not just scale‑up. If you’ve followed IBM Quantum for a while, you’ll recognize why this particular announcement is worth taking seriously. The group has a frustrating habit – for rivals – in that it tends to ship what it puts on slides. The milestone cadence is public and (so far) surprisingly reliable: Eagle at 127 qubits in 2021; Osprey at 433 in 2022; Condor crossing 1,000 qubits in 2023; and the Heron architecture, which deliberately pivoted... Those are not rumors; they’re machines you can point to.

Companies aim to scale fault-tolerant quantum systems into a high-performance, entangled mesh to serve as the foundation for a quantum internet. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. IBM and Cisco have announced plans to jointly build a distributed quantum computing network capable of linking fault-tolerant systems over long distances. In an announcement on Thursday, November 20, the companies said they aim to demonstrate a two-machine entanglement proof-of-concept by 2030, with the ultimate goal of enabling scalable quantum workloads that span multiple sites and... If successful, the collaboration would mark a shift in how quantum computing resources are deployed, moving beyond single-system scale to a federated architecture capable of trillions of quantum operations.

The initiative will combine IBM’s superconducting qubit hardware with new networking infrastructure from Cisco, including microwave-optical transducers, quantum network control layers, and physical and software routing protocols designed for entangled quantum state transmission. The proposed architecture is intended to support fault-tolerant quantum computers already in IBM’s development roadmap. But it would also require the creation of new intermediary hardware — a planned ‘Quantum Networking Unit’, or QNU — to interface with IBM’s quantum processors and translate static quantum states into flying qubits... IBM and Cisco have announced plans to develop a distributed quantum computing network that would interlink large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum systems within and across data centres. The companies aim to demonstrate the first proof-of-concept within five years, with a longer-term goal of building the foundations for a quantum computing internet in the 2030s. Jay Gambetta, Director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow, says: “At IBM, our roadmap includes plans to deliver large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers before the end of the decade.

“By working with Cisco to explore how to link multiple quantum computers like these together into a distributed network, we will pursue how to further scale quantum's computational power. And as we build the future of compute, our vision will push the frontiers of what quantum computers can do within a larger high-performance computing architecture.” IBM’s roadmap positions future quantum processing units as shared resources that can be housed in data centres and connected over short distances through dedicated quantum networking hardware. IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) have announced their intention to collaborate on the foundational architecture for networked distributed quantum computing, targeting realization as soon as the early 2030s. The partnership aims to combine IBM’s quantum computing expertise with Cisco’s quantum networking innovations to explore how to scale large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers beyond current roadmaps. The collaboration outlines a phased approach:

Cisco’s vision for a quantum data center architecture involves distributing entanglement resources to arbitrary pairs of QNUs on an on-demand basis. Cisco is developing a high-speed software protocol framework to dynamically reconfigure network paths and distribute entanglements as required by a given quantum algorithm. This network is intended to facilitate massively computationally demanding workloads within a quantum-centric supercomputing framework. The long-term vision is for this distributed network to form the groundwork for a quantum computing internet by the late 2030s, connecting quantum computers, quantum sensors, and quantum communications at a planetary scale. IBM is also collaborating with the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center (SQMS), led by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, to investigate how many QNUs could be used within quantum data centers. Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

IBM and Cisco announced a collaborative intention to establish a network of large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers, targeted for realization in the early 2030s. The companies plan to combine IBM’s quantum computing leadership with Cisco’s quantum networking innovations to scale beyond IBM’s existing roadmap, exploring how to physically link multiple quantum processing units (QPUs). This distributed quantum network aims to demonstrate a proof-of-concept within five years, combining individual quantum computers capable of running computations over tens to hundreds of thousands of qubits and potentially trillions of quantum gates. This collaboration seeks to address fundamental challenges toward a future quantum computing internet. IBM and Cisco are collaborating to build a network of large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers, targeting an initial demonstration by the early 2030s. This network aims to link multiple quantum processing units (QPUs) – IBM’s quantum computers – enabling computations with potentially trillions of quantum gates.

The companies plan to explore hardware and software solutions to physically connect these computers, ultimately scaling quantum computing beyond current capabilities and paving the way for more powerful applications like complex optimization and materials... The collaboration will focus on creating an interface, dubbed a quantum networking unit (QNU), to convert stationary quantum information within QPUs into “flying” quantum information for transmission across the network. Cisco aims to distribute entanglement resources on demand between these QNUs using a high-speed software protocol, dynamically reconfiguring network paths. An initial demonstration of multiple connected QPUs is planned within the next three years, with investigations into how many QNUs could be used within quantum data centers. Looking further ahead, IBM and Cisco envision this network as a foundation for a quantum computing internet by the late 2030s. This future internet would connect quantum computers, sensors, and communication systems over vast distances – potentially planetary scale – enabling technologies like ultra-secure communications and precise environmental monitoring.

Both companies plan to co-fund academic research to advance the broader quantum ecosystem and accelerate progress towards this ambitious goal. IBM and Cisco are collaborating to build a networked distributed quantum computing system, with a target for an initial demonstration by the end of 2030. This effort aims to link large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers located in distinct cryogenic environments, requiring new connections like microwave-optical transducers and supporting software. The goal is to scale quantum computational power beyond individual machines and explore how to connect them for increasingly complex computations involving potentially trillions of quantum gates. Just weeks after the IT and networking giant revealed that it had developed software designed to make the new networking paradigm work through networking application demos for classical use cases, Cisco has announced a... The two firms believe that distributed quantum networks could lay the groundwork towards a quantum computing internet defined by quantum computers, sensors and communication in the late 2030s.

By combining IBM’s expertise in building quantum computers with Cisco’s quantum networking development work, the companies plan to explore how to scale large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers. Additionally, they plan to work to solve fundamental challenges towards a quantum computing internet. Within five years, IBM and Cisco will aim to demonstrate the first proof-of-concept for a network that combines individual, large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers, enabling them to work together to run computations over tens to... They believe such a network could allow problems to be run with potentially trillions of quantum gates, the fundamental entangling operations required for transformative quantum applications such as massive optimisation problems, or the design... The companies are targeting an initial proof of concept demonstration by the end of 2030, for which they plan to entangle qubits from multiple separate quantum computers located in distinct cryogenic environments. Doing so, the companies argue, will require them to invent new connections, including microwave-optical transducers and a supporting software stack.

Ibm And Cisco Want To Network Fault Tolerant Quantum Computers

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