Ibm And Google Promise Quantum Computers By 2029

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 4, 2025, 7:19 PM

ibm and google promise quantum computers by 2029

IBM announced plans for its IBM Quantum Starling, a fault-tolerant quantum computer, that brings quantum computing a step closer in a market that has long promised revolutionary capabilities while delivering laboratory curiosities. Starling is a significant shift from experimental technology towards enterprise-ready infrastructure. The world's first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer, expected by 2029, will finally bridge the gap between quantum potential and business reality. Today's most pressing business challenges push classical computing to its limits. Drug discovery timelines span decades, supply chain optimization extends across global networks, and financial risk modeling must navigate volatile markets. McKinsey estimates that quantum computing could create $1.3 trillion in value by 2035, yet current quantum systems remain too error-prone for meaningful business applications.

The challenge is that existing quantum computers can only execute a few thousand operations before errors accumulate and corrupt results, making them unsuitable for many of the most complex algorithms that drive real business... The quantum computer, called Starling, will use 200 logical qubits — and IBM plans to follow this up with a 2,000-logical-qubit machine in 2033 When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. IBM scientists say they have solved the biggest bottleneck in quantum computing and plan to launch the world's first large-scale, fault-tolerant machine by 2029. The new research demonstrates new error-correction techniques that the scientists say will lead to a system 20,000 times more powerful than any quantum computer in existence today.

In two new studies uploaded June 2 and June 3 to the preprint arXiv server, the researchers revealed new error mitigation and correction techniques that sufficiently handle these errors and allow for the scaling... Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Leslie Adler Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab 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) June 10 2025 IBM made a landmark announcement outlining a clear path to build the world’s first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer by the year 2029. Codenamed IBM Quantum “Starling,” this planned system will leverage a new scalable architecture to achieve on the order of 200 logical (error-corrected) qubits capable of executing 100 million quantum gates in a single computation.

IBM’s quantum leaders described this as “cracking the code to quantum error correction” – a breakthrough turning the long-held dream of useful quantum computing from fragile theory into an engineering reality. IBM used the occasion of quantum computing roadmap update to declare that it now has “the most viable path to realize fault-tolerant quantum computing” and is confident it will deliver a useful, large-scale quantum... The centerpiece of this plan is IBM Quantum Starling, a new processor and system architecture that IBM says will be constructed at its Poughkeepsie, NY facility – a site steeped in IBM computing history. Starling is slated to feature about 200 logical qubits (quantum bits protected by error correction) spread across a modular multi-chip system, rather than a single huge chip. According to IBM, Starling will be capable of running quantum circuits with 100 million quantum gate operations on those logical qubits. For context, that is orders of magnitude beyond what today’s noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) processors can reliably do.

IBM emphasizes that achieving this will mark the first practical, error-corrected quantum computer – a machine able to tackle real-world problems beyond the reach of classical supercomputers, thanks to its scale and reliability. A core theme of IBM’s announcement is the transition from today’s “fragile, monolithic” chip designs toward modular, scalable, error-corrected systems. Up to now, IBM (and most industry players) built quantum processors on single chips with qubits laid out in a planar array (IBM’s 127-qubit Eagle and 433-qubit Osprey chips are examples). These monolithic chips are limited in size and are not error-corrected – more qubits tend to introduce more noise. IBM’s new approach with Starling is modular quantum hardware: multiple smaller chips or modules will be interconnected via quantum links, allowing qubits in different modules to interact as if on one chip. IBM previewed this modular design with its IBM Quantum System Two infrastructure and experiments like the “Flamingo” coupler that demonstrated microwave links between chips.

By distributing qubits across replaceable modules connected quantumly, IBM can scale to much larger qubit counts than a single chip can support. Crucially, this modularity is paired with long-range entanglement – qubits on different chips can be entangled through couplers, overcoming the short-range connectivity limitations of a 2D chip lattice. IBM’s 2025 roadmap calls for a stepwise implementation of this modular architecture: for example, IBM Quantum “Loon” (expected in 2025) will test the new inter-chip couplers and other components, followed by Kookaburra (2026) to... All these lead up to Starling as the first full-scale fault-tolerant system in 2028–2029. In short, IBM is moving from building bigger single chips to building better systems of chips – a modular quantum compute unit that can be expanded piece by piece. Perhaps the most significant technical breakthrough underpinning IBM’s plan is its quantum error correction (QEC) scheme.

Rather than the well-known “surface codes” used by others (which arrange qubits in a 2D grid with local redundancy), IBM is betting on quantum low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes – specifically a family of codes... In simple terms, QEC works by encoding one “logical” qubit of information into many physical qubits, so that if some of the physical qubits get corrupted by noise, the logical information can still be... Surface codes typically might need on the order of ~1,000 physical qubits to encode 1 logical qubit at an error rate suitable for large algorithms. IBM’s new LDPC-based code is far more resource-efficient: for example, one instance encodes 12 logical qubits in 288 physical qubits (a [[144,12,12]] code), achieving the same error suppression as surface code but with an... This is a game-changer for scalability – it means far fewer physical qubits are required to achieve a given computing capability. IBM’s Vice President of Quantum, Dr.

Jay Gambetta, boldly stated, “We’ve cracked the code to quantum error correction”, describing the new architecture as “an order of magnitude or more more efficient” than surface-code-based approaches. By combining these LDPC codes with the modular hardware (which provides the long-range connectivity the codes require), IBM’s “bicycle architecture” can create logical qubits that are robust against errors without impractical overhead. The bottom line: IBM’s Starling will use error-corrected logical qubits from day one, not just raw physical qubits. IBM believes this development cracks the last big scientific hurdle and that nothing fundamentally unknown remains – it’s now a matter of engineering scale and integrating the system. Overall, IBM’s June 2025 news marks a pivot point in quantum computing. The company has publicly committed to a deadline – a 200-logical-qubit fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029 – and backed it up with a detailed roadmap of intermediate milestones and a stack of research results...

They are moving beyond incremental qubit count increases toward a full stack redesign: new codes, new chips, new interconnects, new cryogenic infrastructure, and co-designed software (IBM’s updated Qiskit Runtime and error mitigation tools were... This cohesive effort has led analysts to note that IBM appears to have “solved the scientific obstacles to error correction” and now holds “the only realistic path” toward building such a machine on the... In the next section, we’ll analyze what this breakthrough means for the wider industry and, critically, for cybersecurity experts who worry about quantum threats to encryption. In a bold declaration that could reshape computing as we know it, IBM and Google have set ambitious timelines to deliver fully operational quantum computers by 2029. Drawing from recent advancements, these tech giants are betting on overcoming longstanding hurdles in error correction and qubit scalability. According to a report in the Financial Times, both companies believe that breakthroughs have revived confidence in creating full-scale quantum systems by the end of the decade.

This optimism stems from IBM’s June publication of a quantum computer blueprint that addresses previous design gaps, and Google’s late-2023 achievement in scaling error correction. The promise of quantum computing lies in its potential to solve complex problems beyond the reach of classical computers, such as simulating molecular interactions for drug discovery or optimizing vast logistical networks. IBM’s roadmap, detailed on their official site, envisions a 100,000-qubit system called Blue Jay, capable of running a billion gates with integrated middleware for seamless quantum-classical computations. Google, meanwhile, has made strides with its Willow chip, highlighting progress in superconducting qubits, as noted in a Slashdot article. Yet, the path to 2029 is fraught with technical challenges. Scaling from current systems with fewer than 200 qubits to over a million requires unprecedented control over quantum states, which are notoriously fragile.

Engineers must tackle issues like noise reduction and fault tolerance, as emphasized in a CBS News piece on the global race for quantum supremacy. IBM’s Jay Gambetta has described these as “science dreams that became engineering,” pointing to innovations in hardware and software that could make error-free quantum supercomputers a reality. Competition is intensifying, with Amazon and Microsoft investing in alternative qubit designs, including trapped ions and photons, which offer stability but face their own scalability woes. A report from AInvest highlights how government funding, such as from DARPA, is shaping the field, potentially narrowing it to a few leaders. This strategic investment underscores the geopolitical stakes, as quantum computers could crack current encryption standards and revolutionize fields like materials science. For industry insiders, the implications are profound.

IBM’s planned Starling machine, slated for a New York data center by 2029, could enable simulations for new chemicals and materials, as outlined in a New Scientist article. Google’s efforts, building on their 2019 quantum supremacy claim—though contested by IBM, as discussed in The Conversation—aim for machines that integrate with cloud services, democratizing access. IBM has unveiled its bold roadmap to launch a fault-tolerant quantum computer, IBM Quantum Starling, by 2029. This system is expected to deliver unprecedented computational capabilities—20,000 times more operations than existing quantum systems. If successful, this advancement could radically transform industries like cybersecurity, pharmaceuticals, and finance. IBM is advancing quantum computing to tackle real-world challenges and unlock transformative opportunities for global businesses, according to CEO Arvind Krishna.

According to IBM, the computational power of the new Starling system would require the memory of over a quindecillion (10⁴⁸) of today’s supercomputers to simulate. Such exponential capability stems from using logical qubits—groups of physical qubits that correct quantum errors in real time. Unlike traditional qubits, which are prone to environmental noise, logical qubits ensure more stable computations. However, they require thousands of physical qubits to function reliably, making scalability and error correction critical challenges. Industry leaders say IBM’s timeline is aggressive but not out of reach. Experts like Ensar Seker, CISO at SOCRadar, and Luke Yang from Morningstar acknowledge IBM’s consistent progress in qubit scaling and modular system design.

Ibm And Google Promise Quantum Computers By 2029

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