The investment decision follows last week’s agreement between IBM and the US Department of Commerce to build an American quantum chip foundry called Anderon.
Computer giant IBM will invest more than $10bn in the quantum field over the next five years, according to US government filings by the company.
IBM’s goal is to “enhance our leadership position in multiples” – including in research and development, capitalization, ecosystem relationships, productivity scaling, integration and acquisition – to deliver “the first fault-tolerant supercomputer by 2029”, it says in the article.
The investment decision follows last week’s agreement between IBM and the US Department of Commerce to build an American quantum chip lab called Anderon as part of a $2 billion government strategy to accelerate America’s quantum innovation.
IBM said it has already deployed more than 90 quantum systems so far in collaboration with 325 companies, start-ups, universities and government agencies to “address scientific challenges across chemistry, biology, materials science and more”.
Under its quantum deal with the US government, IBM will use a $1bn legal award to launch Anderon, a subsidiary IBM says will be the first player in the US quantum chip foundry. It will be headquartered in Albany, New York and serve as a 300mm quantum wafer for many quantum hardware vendors.
IBM will match the government’s contribution to its $1bn capital, as well as significant intellectual property, assets and skilled workers, with more investors expected as Anderon grows.
“This investment in quantum technology will build on our domestic industry, creating thousands of high-paying American jobs while developing American quantum capabilities,” said US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last week of a comprehensive strategy aimed at benefiting two domestic quantum centers and seven quantum computing companies in the country.
Separately, IBM said it will also invest a further $5bn in ‘Project Lightwell’, “an initiative backed by new AI capabilities and a global force of more than 20,000 engineers to help businesses secure open source software”.
Alongside cloud tech company Red Hat, IBM aims to “establish a trusted business cleanup environment combined with global engineering capabilities to identify and remediate vulnerabilities at scale”.
“Open source is the backbone of today’s digital economy and the foundation of modern AI, and we’re poised to change the way it’s built, secured and measured,” said Arvind Krishna, chairman and CEO of IBM.
“Through Project Lightwell, IBM and Red Hat are helping to define a new industry model, one that combines AI, developer expertise, and trusted collaboration to secure open source software at its source and throughout the supply chain.”
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