IBM Connects Its First Modular Cryogenic Systems in Milestone Toward Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing

Good Big Blue news! From punch card mainframe to quantum computing! What a business story!

"

• New cryogenic quantum fridges designed to link hundreds of quantum chips.

• Cooled to below 15 millikelvin, more than 180 times colder than deep space, the build out marks a step forward in the engineering required for future quantum computers.

• Advances IBM’s quantum roadmap to deliver the world’s first fault-tolerant quantum computer in 2029.

...

it has successfully joined and cooled down two cryogenic modules into a single environment. The new architecture is designed to scale into the modular, shared, and ultra-cold system required to link hundreds of quantum chips into a more powerful quantum computer capable of solving large problems. Its deployment is a milestone on IBM's path to delivering IBM Quantum Starling in 2029, which is expected to be the world's first fault-tolerant quantum computer and will integrate advances across error correction, processor design, decoding, and systems engineering. ...

IBM’s plans for Starling were introduced last year with a new error correction code that dramatically reduces the physical resources required for fault tolerance. Since then, the company’s progression has remained on course, including the demonstration of core hardware components and breakthroughs in efficient error-correction decoding. ..."

IBM Connects Its First Modular Cryogenic Systems in Milestone Toward Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing

A cryogenic quantum fridge?

IBM Nostalgia, one of the first Personal Computers from 1984 (Source)

Quantum computers Modeling the chemistry of fusion reactor material

Good news! Is this just incremental progress or a major step forward?

"Quantum is aiding in the race to realize fusion energy by taking a step toward making the fuel for a fusion reactor. New work ... uses quantum computing to model molten salt—salt in a liquid phase. When wrapped around a fusion reaction like a blanket, molten salt could produce a rare fuel necessary to sustain that reaction: tritium.

The chemistry involved in extracting tritium from the molten salt is so complex that researchers have not been able to accurately model it using classical compute methods, and molten salt experiments are difficult and expensive, requiring immense energy and specialized equipment. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Cleveland Clinic, and IBM showed how hybrid quantum-AI methods could yield better results, speeding the pace of fusion research. ..."

From the abstract:

"Molten salts such as FLiBe (2LiF--BeF2) are leading blanket materials for breeding and recovering tritium in fusion reactors.

Predicting tritium speciation requires accurate electronic ground-state energies for representative molten-salt clusters, a demanding task for correlated electronic-structure methods.

Here we report the first application of heterogeneous quantum--classical computing to tritium binding in FLiBe. Clusters drawn from ab initio molecular dynamics are partitioned by an embedded-wavefunction (EWF) method into atom-centered fragments, and the largest fragments are solved on IBM quantum hardware using extended sample-based quantum diagonalization (ext-SQD).

Across nine clusters, the heterogeneous quantum--classical workflow reproduces fragment ground-state energies with agreement to full configuration interaction within 0.7~kcal/mol and a mean absolute deviation of 0.3~kcal/mol.

In contrast, fragmented and unfragmented conformational energy differences and tritium binding energies differ by 12~kcal/mol and 110~kcal/mol on average, respectively, identifying fragment construction rather than fragment solution as the dominant source of algorithmic bias.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such demonstration for a charged ionic system and in particular an inorganic molten salt, where electrostatic and polarization effects make the accurate treatment of electronic correlation particularly challenging.

These results also identify areas of future research towards an accurate and scalable quantum--classical workflow to compute free-energy estimates of tritium speciation in fusion blankets."

Modeling the chemistry of fusion reactor material | IBM Quantum Computing Blog "Researchers used quantum-centric supercomputing to simulate molten salts, in an early step toward solving a key problem in fusion power."

Quantum Computations on Fusion Blanket Molten Salts (preprint, open access)

What is IBM’s nanostack chip architecture? - IBM Research

Recommendable! Explains the latest chip design breakthrough by Big Blue!

See also my recent blog post here regarding new IBM chips.

What is IBM’s nanostack chip architecture? - IBM Research "This new microchip architecture from IBM builds up, not out, to overcome the spatial limitations of scaling transistor density."

Nanosheet transistor architecture (center), introduced by IBM in 2017, has supplanted the previously dominant FinFET technology (left). Nanostack transistor architecture (right) is expected to extend transistor scaling for more than a decade.

IBM makes chip design breakthrough with 3D architecture, would reach AI chips by 2030

Good news! Good old big blue is alive and kicking! From mainframes to AI!

"IBM announced the first sub-1 nanometer chip technology, with transistor nodes measuring just 0.7 nanometers wide. The breakthrough allows designers to cram nearly 100 billion transistors into a fingernail-sized chip, about 10,000 times denser than a red blood cell is wide.

Performance jumps are substantial: The chips deliver 70 percent better efficiency or 50 percent more power than IBM’s previous 2nm designs, and researchers estimate AI accelerators built with the technology could hit 9,000 TOPS, six times today’s leading hardware.

The advance relies on what IBM calls “nanostack” architecture, which stacks transistors vertically rather than just shrinking them in two dimensions, along with breakthroughs in wafer bonding and a 40 percent increase in on-chip SRAM capacity. IBM expects the nanostack design to anchor at least a decade of silicon innovation, though widespread adoption is still years away. (IBM)"

"... IBM announced it's once again unveiling the smallest, most powerful computer chip technology in the world. These are the first sub-1 nanometer node chips, designed with transistor nodes that are just 0.7 nanometers, or 7 angstroms, wide. That makes them the smallest transistors in the world — by some margin. ..."

Data Points: GPT-5.6 arrives, but only for approved partners

https://research.ibm.com/blog/sub-1nm-node-chips "It’s the world’s first 0.7nm chip technology. Powered by IBM’s new nanostack architecture, this structure will pave the way for more powerful and efficient chips for years to come. This is the architecture to accelerate the Angstrom era."

First complete genome loaded onto a quantum computer

Amazing stuff!

"Since the landmark decoding of the human genome in the early 2000s, DNA sequencing has exploded. Traditional computers have struggled to keep pace with the deluge of data and soaring processing demands, creating a bottleneck in scientists’ capacity to mine the myriad variations in DNA for biological insights—and a push for alternative solutions.

Now, one option, quantum computing, may be a step closer to helping. In an announcement last week, researchers say they have for the first time encoded a complete, albeit small, genome, that of the hepatitis D virus, into a quantum computer, proving in principle these weird machines could one day aid genomics research. ...

The approach may hold promise for studying the immense genetic variation found in humans and other organisms. Although geneticists have long relied on reference genomes represented by single linear sequences, they’re increasingly turning to “pangenomes,” which capture many possible DNA or RNA sequences within a species by branching into alternative versions. Pangenomes are seen as key to personalized medicine and understanding pathogen evolution, for example, but they’re computationally complex. ..."

"... The breakthrough comes from a collaboration between the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Melbourne, with Kyiv Academic University as an additional partner. The genome was loaded onto an IBM quantum computer, powered by the company’s latest 156-qubit Heron processor. ...

The goal of the Quantum Pangenomics project within Q4Bio was to perform a range of genomic processing tasks for the most complex and variable genomes and sequences – a task that can go beyond the capabilities of current classical computers, including the use of artificial intelligence. These tasks include assembling genomes and pangenomes from DNA sequence data, as well as mapping DNA fragments into reference genomes, which is key for studying genetic variation.

A pangenome is a collection of genome sequences from many individuals of the same species and they are particularly challenging to analyse using classical computing methods.2 Rather than representing a single reference genome, pangenomes capture the genetic diversity across many populations, which provides a more complete view of genetic variation. However, analysing multiple genomes at once dramatically increases computational complexity: as more genomes are incorporated into a pangenome, the burden on classical tools grows rapidly. ..."

First complete genome loaded onto a quantum computer | Science | AAAS "Researchers encode the tiny hepatitis D virus in an early step toward “quantum genomics”"

Genome loaded onto a quantum computer in world first (original news release) "Sanger Institute team and their collaborators have successfully loaded the Hepatitis D viral genome on a quantum computer "

AI Periodic Table Explained: Mapping LLMs, RAG & AI Agent Frameworks

Very recommendable! A tutorial!

Remembering Lou Gerstner who turned around IBM

R.I.P. An American business leader icon passed away at age 83.

"... an American businessman, best known for his tenure as chairman and chief executive officer of IBM from April 1993 until 2002, when he retired as CEO in March and chairman in December. He is largely credited with turning IBM's fortunes around. Gerstner is chairman of Gerstner Philanthropies.

Gerstner was formerly CEO of RJR Nabisco, and held senior positions at American Express and McKinsey & Company. ..."

Remembering Lou Gerstner

Our Founder Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.

IBM and Cisco Announce Plans to Build a Network of Large-Scale, Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computers and quantum computing Internet

Amazing how this once famous network gear/device maker (Cisco Systems) and pioneer of local area networks (LANs) has transformed!

"- New collaboration plans to unite strengths of both leaders to design a connected network of large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers, targeted by early 2030s

- Companies plan to deliver an initial demonstration of multiple networked quantum computers within five years

- Distributed quantum network could lay groundwork towards quantum computing internet defined by quantum computers, sensors, and communication in the late 2030s

...."

IBM and Cisco Announce Plans to Build a Network of Large-Scale, Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computers

Inside IBM’s MIND-BLOWING Quantum computer

Recommendable! From mainframe to one of the first commercial PC (personal computer) to quantum computing! An amazing transformation of IBM over 6-7 decades!

IBM Watsonx Code Assistant for Z is the Rosetta Stone for COBOL

Some programming languages never die! COBOL, which stands for Common Business-Oriented Language, was invented in 1959. 

Watsonx Code Assistant for Z is the Rosetta Stone for COBOL - IBM Research "The COBOL language underlies critical business systems, but WCA for Z is using the power of AI to help developers understand and modernize it."

IBM announces A new quantum computing era beginning in 2029

Good news! The once mainframe producer is again at the cutting edge!

Sometimes you want to believe or better believe the hype! 😊

Will the starling become a darling? 😊

"A new era in quantum computing starts today

 

IBM Quantum has made some major announcements about the future of quantum computing. Its updated roadmap shows that by 2029, they will unveil IBM Quantum Starling, a system projected to run 20,000 times more operations than today’s quantum computers. The big breakthrough is a new fault tolerance protocol, a blueprint to build machines capable of computing despite the error-prone nature of qubits, the building blocks of quantum computers. A fault-tolerant quantum computer could lead to transformative applications in fields like materials science, drug development, optimization, and more. .."

IBM "Coming in 2029: IBM Quantum Starling

IBM will release the world’s first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer."

IBM lays out clear path to large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029 using a bicycle architecture

Good news coming from old Big Blue! From mainframe computers to quantum computers!

Will this Starling on a bicycle become a darling? 😊

Is it a bicycle or bicyclic?

"... IBM Quantum Starling — a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer capable of running quantum circuits comprising 100 million quantum gates on 200 logical qubits. We are building this system at our historic facility in Poughkeepsie, New York. ...

Today, IBM is a leader in quantum computing. Our quantum computers are the only ones capable of delivering accurate results for quantum circuits with 5,000+ two-qubit gates. ...

In 2024, we introduced a fault-tolerant quantum memory based on quantum low-density parity check (qLDPC) codes called bivariate bicycle (BB) codes. The [[144,12,12]] gross code encodes 12 logical qubits into 144 data qubits—a gross—along with another 144 syndrome check qubits, for a total of 288 physical qubits. This code corrects errors just as well as the surface code does, but requires 10x fewer qubits to do so. ..."

From the abstract:

"We present the bicycle architecture, a modular quantum computing framework based on high-rate, low-overhead quantum LDPC codes identified in prior work. For two specific bivariate bicycle codes with distances 12 and 18, we construct explicit fault-tolerant logical instruction sets and estimate the logical error rate of the instructions under circuit noise.

We develop a compilation strategy adapted to the constraints of the bicycle architecture, enabling large-scale universal quantum circuit execution. Integrating these components, we perform end-to-end resource estimates demonstrating that an order of magnitude larger logical circuits can be implemented with a given number of physical qubits on the bicycle architecture than on surface code architectures. We anticipate further improvements through advances in code constructions, circuit designs, and compilation techniques."

IBM lays out clear path to fault-tolerant quantum computing | IBM Quantum Computing Blog "With two new research papers and an updated quantum roadmap, IBM® lays out a clear, rigorous, comprehensive framework for realizing a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029."

Tour de gross: A modular quantum computer based on bivariate bicycle codes (open access)

2025 IBM Quantum Roadmap.

Our fault-tolerant modular architecture is based on the bivariate bicycle code developed by IBM.

Render of Poughkeepsie data center with IBM Quantum System Two, Starling, and Blue Jay.

IBM, Tata Consultancy Services and Government of Andhra Pradesh Unveil Plans to Deploy India’s Largest Quantum Computer in the Country’s First Quantum Valley Tech Park

Good news! Old Big Blue again!

"The Quantum Valley Tech Park will be anchored by next-generation IBM Quantum System Two

Tata Consultancy Services partnering with IBM to advance India’s quantum algorithm and application development ..."

"Andhra Pradesh is developing the Quantum Valley Tech Park in Amaravati, aiming to establish India's first Quantum Valley and become a global hub for quantum technology.  ...

The Quantum Valley Tech Park is slated to be dedicated to the nation on January 1, 2026." (Google Search AI mode)

IBM, Tata Consultancy Services and Government of Andhra Pradesh Unveil Plans to Deploy India’s Largest Quantum Computer in the Country’s First Quantum Valley Tech Park

IBM z17: The First Mainframe Fully Engineered for the AI Age. Really!

Some dinosaurs never die! 😊 

You have to give IBM some credit for their preservation efforts! 😊

Probably, most people alive do not even remember anymore what a mainframe computer is! 😊

Caution: satire!

IBM z17: The First Mainframe Fully Engineered for the AI Age "New Innovations Unlock Capabilities for Enterprise-Scale AI, Including Large Language Models and Generative AI"

IBM’s newest mainframe system, IBM z17, fully engineered for AI.

IBM: Fiber optics for AI chips, 2nm news w/Rapidus, & Grid FMs - foundation models for the power grid

Recommendable!

IBM Brings the Speed of Light to the Generative AI Era in the datacenter with Optics Breakthrough

Good news! Big Blue has become Deep Blue! 😊

"IBM ... has unveiled breakthrough research in optics technology that could dramatically improve how data centers train and run generative AI models. Researchers have pioneered a new process for co-packaged optics (CPO), the next generation of optics technology, to enable connectivity within data centers at the speed of light through optics to complement existing short reach electrical wires. By designing and assembling the first publicly announced successful polymer optical waveguide (PWG) to power this technology, IBM researchers have shown how CPO will redefine the way the computing industry transmits high-bandwidth data between chips, circuit boards, and servers. ..."

IBM Brings the Speed of Light to the Generative AI Era with Optics Breakthrough "New co-packaged optics innovation could replace electrical interconnects in data centers to offer significant improvements in speed and energy efficiency for AI and other computing applications"

Next generation Co-Packaged Optics Technology to Train & Run Generative AI Models in Data Centers and other computing applications (IBM technical paper, PDF)

IBM did not provide a caption for their new chip

Here is what is under the hood

Anyone remembers those PCs from IBM?

IBM: Bringing modern AI workloads to the mainframe in 2024

Mainframe computers have been developed since the 1950s!

"The new Spyre accelerator will enable businesses to deploy gen AI software on IBM Z, opening many potential use cases. ..."

IBM

First IBM Quantum Data Center in Europe Opens; Will Include IBM's Most Performant Quantum Systems

Good news! IBM seems to be a leader in quantum computing!

"... IBM ... today unveiled the first IBM Quantum Data Center located outside of the United States. It is the company's second quantum data center in the world and marks a significant expansion of its fleet of advanced, utility-scale quantum systems available to global users via the cloud. ..."

First IBM Quantum Data Center in Europe Opens; Will Include IBM's Most Performant Quantum Systems - Oct 1, 2024 "Expansion of IBM's utility-scale fleet of quantum computers in Ehningen, Germany is marked with ribbon-cutting by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and industry leaders.

New IBM quantum data center in Europe will soon include IBM Quantum Heron-based system with reduced error rates, 16 times better performance and a 25-fold increase in speed over 2022 IBM Quantum systems."

Ribbon cutting with Chancellor Scholz

IBM voluntary Signs European Commission AI Pact like about 100 other companies so far. Really!

What a sycophant! Annoying anticipatory obedience!

Caveat: I am not familiar with the EU AI Pact, but I suspect it is not great!

"IBM today [9/25/2024] signed the European Commission’s AI Pact, a set of voluntary company pledges to further industry adoption of best practices for high-risk AI and help create the right conditions for future compliance with the EU AI Act, which IBM has long-supported.

As an AI Pact signatory, IBM pledges to implement AI governance strategies and work towards compliance with the EU AI Act, including to conduct a mapping of high-risk AI systems and deployments, and promote AI literacy and awareness among employees and clients. These commitments reflect and build on efforts the company has had in place for years as part of its long-standing focus on bringing powerful technology into the world responsibly."

"The EU AI Pact voluntary pledges call on participating companies to commit to at least three core actions:

• AI governance strategy to foster the uptake of AI in the organisation and work towards future compliance with the AI Act.
• High-risk AI systems mapping: Identifying AI systems likely to be categorised as high-risk under the AI Act
• Promoting AI literacy and awareness among staff, ensuring ethical and responsible AI development.

 ..."

IBM Signs European Commission AI Pact

Over a hundred companies sign EU AI Pact pledges to drive trustworthy and safe AI development

IBM’s Quantum-Centric Supercomputing Vision Is Coming

Recommendable overview article by IBM on its efforts!

IBM’s Quantum-Centric Supercomputing Vision Is Coming - IEEE Spectrum "Recent advances point the way to useful classical-quantum hybrids"