University of Kwazulu-Natal

Ibm Google Aim To Launch Operational Quantum Computers By 2030

Bonisiwe Shabane
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ibm google aim to launch operational quantum computers by 2030

The long-awaited dream of practical quantum computing is getting closer to reality, thanks to major tech players like IBM and Google. They are making significant strides toward creating scalable designs that could be turned into fully operational systems in just a few years. This could revolutionize industries by speeding up drug discovery, enhancing AI capabilities, and improving financial market predictions. In June, IBM unveiled an ambitious plan for a large-scale quantum machine. The blueprint fills in the gaps from earlier concepts and shows that the company is on track to build one by the end of this decade. "It doesn't feel like a dream anymore," Jay Gambetta, head of IBM's quantum initiative, told Financial Times.

Google, which overcame a major technical hurdle late last year, is also optimistic about producing an industrial-scale system within the same timeframe as IBM. However, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has warned that it could take 15 to 30 years before these machines become truly useful. The differing timelines highlight the complexity and unpredictability of quantum computing development. Unlike today's computers that work on binary code, quantum computers use qubits. These tiny quantum bits can be 0, 1, or both at the same time. This unique property allows them to explore multiple possibilities simultaneously and solve complex problems much faster than classical computers.

The potential applications are huge, from speeding up drug discovery to improving AI capabilities and financial market predictions. Scaling up quantum computers from less than 200 qubits to over a million will be no small feat. Qubits are inherently unstable and their special quantum states last only for fractions of a second. Plus, adding more of them can create interference that scrambles calculations. Despite these fundamental physics problems, the industry still has to industrialize quantum technology by building chips that can house large numbers of qubits. Daily stocks & crypto headlines, free to your inbox

By continuing, I agree to the Market Data Terms of Service and Privacy Statement 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.

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... Major tech firms race to build full-scale quantum computers by 2030.

Scaling qubits faces key challenges like interference and error correction. Different approaches vie for practicality amid tough engineering hurdles. Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here. Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium.

Register here. In the rapidly evolving field of quantum computing, executives at Google and IBM are expressing unprecedented optimism about achieving a practical, large-scale quantum computer by the end of the decade. Recent technical breakthroughs have shifted the narrative from theoretical promise to tangible progress, with both companies pointing to advancements in error correction and qubit scalability as key enablers. According to a report in the Financial Times, Google’s quantum team and IBM’s researchers believe these developments could lead to the first “workable” quantum systems capable of outperforming classical computers on real-world problems. This confidence stems from a series of milestones over the past year. Google’s introduction of its Willow quantum chip last December marked a significant leap, demonstrating error rates low enough to suggest scalability toward useful applications.

As detailed in Google’s own blog post, Willow can perform computations in minutes that would take supercomputers billions of years, reviving hopes after earlier setbacks in quantum supremacy claims. Scaling Qubits: The Core Challenge Ahead IBM, meanwhile, has outlined a clear roadmap to fault-tolerant quantum computing by 2029, emphasizing the need to scale from current systems with under 200 qubits to over a million. In a June update on the IBM Quantum Computing Blog, the company detailed its framework for achieving “large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computing,” including plans for processors with 200 logical qubits. This aligns with broader industry efforts, where government funding from agencies like DARPA is accelerating research, as noted in a recent analysis by AInvest. The race is not without hurdles.

Quantum systems remain notoriously fragile, prone to errors from environmental noise, requiring sophisticated error-correction techniques. Posts on X (formerly Twitter) from industry observers highlight the excitement, with users sharing updates on how these breakthroughs could transform fields like drug discovery and optimization problems, though skepticism persists about timelines. 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

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