IBM has installed its second-gen IBM Quantum Heron processors in its Poughkeepsie data center as it builds out its quantum infrastructure.
Big Blue launched its latest Heron quantum processor and IBM Quantum System Two late last year. Now those systems have been deployed in IBM's Quantum Data Center, the company has more than a dozen quantum computers in its fleet, which is available via IBM Cloud.
Constellation Research analyst Holger Mueller said the move to install the latest Heron quantum processor gives IBM's quantum efforts a big boost. Mueller said:
"IBM is showing the commercial viability with Heron, with its second system available for quantum use cases. This is great news for the quantum community as it can run new use cases on the largest set of available qubits. All eyes are now on how IBM will be connecting these Heron systems together.
Heron is the Lego block that IBM wants to use to put a massive quantum system together built on racks. A lot can go wrong, as we know with traditional racks - but IBM has HPC experience. It's good to see Heron - the quantum Lego block - is working."
IBM said its Heron-based quantum system offers a 16-fold improvement in performance and a 25-fold increase in speed over previous IBM systems. The company said its two Heron-based systems in addition to its other quantum systems mean its IBM Quantum Data Center can run quantum circuits better than classical systems simulating them.
Quantum computing has been developing quietly as the tech industry has been focused on generative AI. Ultimately, generative AI and AI could converge for computing breakthroughs.
Recent quantum computing developments include:
- Microsoft claims hybrid quantum breakthrough with Quantinuum, partners with Atom Computing
- Quantum Brilliance, Oak Ridge National Laboratory aims to meld quantum computing, HPC
- IonQ's quantum computing bets: Quantum for LLM training, chemistry and enterprise use cases
- Classiq CEO Minerbi on the intersection of quantum computing, HPC and use cases
- IBM launches latest Heron quantum processor, IBM Quantum System Two
- Quantinuum raises $300 million, valued at $5 billion
- Will IonQ make quantum computing enterprise relevant in 2025?
- Why your quantum computing vendors are going to look familiar
Big Blue said its quantum data center can push new algorithms forward to reach quantum advantage. IBM also touted its Qiskit software to program quantum computers.
IBM said it will continue to expand its IBM Quantum Data Center as it executes on its roadmap. The Poughkeepsie location is the global hub for IBM's Quantum Network, but it is expanding with a second quantum facility in Ehningen, Germany.
Here's a look at IBM's quantum roadmap (click to expand).
