IBM announced a $100 million collaboration with the Universities of Tokyo and Chicago on Sunday to build a quantum-centric supercomputer with 100,000 qubits by 2033.
The Tech gaint claims that a 100,000-qubit system would provide a framework for tackling some of the most important issues facing the world today, issues that even the most sophisticated supercomputers of the present may never be able to resolve.
According to the company, a 100,000-qubit system would serve as a foundation to address some of the world’s most pressing problems that even the most advanced supercomputers of today may never be able to solve.
“We have achieved significant progress along our roadmap and mission to globally establish useful quantum technology, so much so that we can now, with our partners, truly begin to explore and develop a new class of supercomputing anchored by quantum,” IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna said in a statement.
IBM plans to unveil three key components of their required architecture for quantum-centric supercomputers by the end of 2023.
The first is the new 133-qubit ‘IBM Heron’ processor, which is a complete redesign of IBM’s prior generations of quantum computers, including a new two-qubit gate for increased speed.
The second is the release of IBM Quantum System Two, a new flagship system meant to be modular and adaptable in order to add scaling aspects in its underlying components, such as classical control electronics and high-density cryogenic cable infrastructure.
According to the company, this system will be operational by the end of 2023.
The third is the introduction of middleware for quantum, a set of tools for running workloads on both classical and quantum processors. These tools include those for deconstructing, parallelizing, and reconstructing workloads in order to enable effective solutions at scale.
IBM plans to work with academic partners and its worldwide quantum ecosystem over the following ten years to enhance the connectivity of its quantum processors via quantum interconnects.
