Ibm Unveils Roadmap For Quantum Computer Development

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 4, 2025, 5:58 PM

ibm unveils roadmap for quantum computer development

IBM believes that the first demonstrations of quantum advantage on IBM quantum computers will happen by the end of 2026, and the company plans to deliver the world’s first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer soon... The latest IBM Quantum Roadmap update lays out a clear path to achieving each of these long-sought quantum computing milestones, with new additions like the forthcoming Loon and Nighthawk processors helping to light the... Follow along as Tushar Mittal, Head of Product, Quantum Services, presents the updated IBM Quantum development and innovation roadmap through 2033 and beyond. Learn more about IBM Quantum at https://www.ibm.com/quantum IBM on Tuesday announced a roadmap to develop a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer called Quantum Starling. Part of the company's plan involves the new IBM Quantum Nighthawk processor, which is set to release later this year, according to a blog post announcing the details.

"Unlocking the full promise of quantum computing will require a device capable of running larger, deeper circuits with hundreds of millions of gates operating on hundreds of qubits, at least," the company said in... "More than that, it will require a device capable of correcting errors and preventing them from spreading throughout the system. … It will require a fault-tolerant quantum computer." Fault tolerance refers to the system's ability to correct and deal with errors. The quantum race accelerated this year after Google announced its breakthrough quantum chip "Willow" in December. Microsoft rolled out its first quantum chip Majorana 1 in February, and Amazon followed a week later with its "Ocelot" chip.

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. Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Leslie Adler

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab IBM has publicly outlined an ambitious plan to achieve a quantum computer with over 4,000 qubits by 2025, a significant step in the progression towards practical quantum computation. This endeavor is underpinned by a strategy of modular design, which involves interconnecting multiple smaller quantum processors to achieve the target qubit count, and a broader vision of quantum-centric supercomputing, integrating quantum processing units... A recent significant milestone in this journey is the planned installation of Europe's first IBM Quantum System Two in San Sebastián, Spain, expected to be completed by the end of 2025. This system will be powered by a 156-qubit IBM Quantum Heron processor, representing IBM's most advanced modular quantum computer in the European context. IBM's current leading quantum processors include the 1,121-qubit Condor, which demonstrates their ability to scale qubit counts, and the 156-qubit Heron, which prioritizes performance with lower error rates.

While current quantum computers face limitations due to error rates, IBM's advancements, particularly the deployment of advanced systems like the one in San Sebastián, signify a strategic focus on enhancing both the scale and... Quantum computing harnesses the principles of quantum mechanics to perform computations that are fundamentally different from those of classical computers, offering the potential to solve certain complex problems with exponential speedups. The fundamental unit of information in quantum computing is the qubit, which, unlike classical bits that can only represent 0 or 1, can exist in a superposition of both states simultaneously. This ability, along with the quantum phenomena of entanglement and interference, allows quantum computers to explore vast computational spaces, making them potentially capable of tackling problems currently intractable for even the most powerful supercomputers. Increasing the number of qubits in a quantum computer is a crucial step towards achieving quantum advantage, the point at which a quantum computer can outperform the best classical algorithms for a given task,... IBM Corp.

today revealed its expected roadmap for building the world’s first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer, which would enable scaling up quantum computing for real-world practical results. The technology giant said it expects to be able to deliver the platform in 2029. The new computing system, dubbed IBM Quantum Starling, will be built at the company’s campus in Poughkeepsie, New York, and is expected to perform 20,000 times more operations than today’s quantum computers. According to the company, this new platform would require the memory of more than a quindecillion of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, that’s a number equal to a 1 with 48 zeros after it. “IBM is charting the next frontier in quantum computing,” said Chief Executive Arvind Krishna. “Our expertise across mathematics, physics, and engineering is paving the way for a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer — one that will solve real-world challenges and unlock immense possibilities for business.”

Problems that can take a classical computer months or years to solve, a quantum computer can solve in minutes. That makes them ideal for working on problems such as drug discovery, genetics, and materials science. Quantum processors use qubits, or quantum bits, a fundamental unit of information similar to a bit in classical computing. IBM updated its quantum computing roadmap heading into IBM Quantum Starling, a large-scale fault-tolerant quantum system in 2029. Big Blue said IBM Quantum Starling will be delivered by 2029 and installed at the IBM Quantum Data Center in Poughkeepsie, New York. That system is expected to perform 20,000 times ore operations than today's quantum computers.

For IBM, Quantum Starling will be the headliner of a fleet of quantum computing systems. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said the company is leaning into its R&D to scale out quantum computing for multiple use cases including drug development, materials discovery, chemistry, and optimization. IBM also recently outlined flexible pricing models for quantum computing to expand usage and upgraded its Quantum Data Center to its latest Heron quantum processor. The news lands as quantum computing players outline plans to scale organically or via acquisition. IonQ just announced its plans through 2030 and quantum computing vendors have been laying out plans throughout 2025. IBM said Starling will be able to run 100 million quantum operations using 200 logical qubits.

A logical qubit is a unit of an error-corrected quantum computer tasked with storing one qubit’s worth of quantum information. Quantum computers need to be error corrected to run large workloads without fault. We are explorers. We’re working to explore the limits of computing, chart the course of a technology that has never been realized, and map how we think these technologies will benefit our clients and solve the world’s... But we can’t simply set out into the unknown. A good explorer needs a map.

A challenge of near-term quantum computation is the limited number of available qubits. Suppose we want to run a circuit for 400 qubits, but we only have 100 qubit devices available. What do we do? Read about circuit knitting with classical communication. Disclaimer: The below blog represents our latest developments from 2022. IBM has since updated the development roadmap as we learn more about the engineering and innovations required to realize error-corrected quantum computing.

Please refer to this page for the latest roadmap and our latest progress along it. Two years ago, we issued our first draft of that map to take our first steps: our ambitious three-year plan to develop quantum computing technology, called our development roadmap. Since then, our exploration has revealed new discoveries, gaining us insights that have allowed us to refine that map and travel even further than we’d planned. Today, we’re excited to present to you an update to that map: our plan to weave quantum processors, CPUs, and GPUs into a compute fabric capable of solving problems beyond the scope of classical... Our goal is to build quantum-centric supercomputers. The quantum-centric supercomputer will incorporate quantum processors, classical processors, quantum communication networks, and classical networks, all working together to completely transform how we compute.

In order to do so, we need to solve the challenge of scaling quantum processors, develop a runtime environment for providing quantum calculations with increased speed and quality, and introduce a serverless programming model...

Ibm Unveils Roadmap For Quantum Computer Development

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