IBM just took a ‘significant’ step toward useful quantum computing

IBM (IBM) on Tuesday said it is building the world’s first large-scale quantum computer capable of operating without errors. The computer, called Starling, is set to launch by 2029.

The quantum computer will reside in IBM’s new quantum data center in upstate New York and is expected to perform 20,000 more operations than today’s quantum computers, the company said in its announcement Tuesday.

Starling will be “fault tolerant,” IBM said, meaning it would be able to perform quantum operations for things like drug discovery, supply chain optimization, semiconductor design, and financial risk analyses without the errors that plague quantum computers today and make them less useful than traditional computers.

The news comes a day after IBM stock hit an all-time high of $273.27 Monday. Shares are up more than 60% over the past year, more than the S&P 500’s (^GSPC) roughly 12% gain.

While IBM has been involved in the quantum computing space since 1981, Big Tech companies such as Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG), and Microsoft (MSFT) have been working to gain a foothold in the burgeoning market, as well as a plethora of smaller quantum companies like D-Wave (QBTS) and IonQ (IONQ).

Microsoft and Amazon unveiled new quantum computing chips in February. Google released a quantum computing chip called Willow in December, saying the technology “paves the way to a useful, large-scale quantum computer.” The announcement sent shares of its parent company, Alphabet, up 5% the same day.

Once developed, useful quantum computers such as Starling would solve problems that would take “classical” computers billions of years.

Both AI and traditional computers are “classical” computers that rely on linear algebra, whereas quantum computers rely on quantum mechanics and advanced mathematics, making them more useful for solving certain problems in fields such as cybersecurity, cryptography, and chemistry.

IDC quantum analyst Heather West said IBM’s Starling is a “significant” development for the industry, which she expects to grow to $8.6 billion by 2028.

“We’ve seen these incremental steps towards being able to deliver a scaled quantum computing system,” IDC analyst Heather West told Yahoo Finance in an interview. “We’re finally moving from just small steps — [a] small finding here, a small engineering breakthrough there — and now putting it all together to get this larger system, Starling.”

Unlike traditional computers that use bits or series of 1s and 0s, quantum machines use qubits. Qubits are a function of quantum mechanics and, rather than being expressed as a 1 or 0, can exist as both at the same time, allowing for far more processing capabilities. But qubits are fragile and prone to producing errors. Worse, the more qubits used in an equation, the more errors they introduce.

Quantum computers use error correction codes to detect and correct their errors.

Starling will have the ability to run large-scale quantum operations without error, IBM said, because the company has devised a new error correction code. The company says this will allow it to scale the computers significantly without making them less accurate.

Google also said it achieved this feat with its Willow chip in late 2024. Google uses an error correction code called “surface code,” but it requires the company to use tons of qubits to perform quantum operations, taking up more physical space. IBM will use a code called qLDPC requiring its quantum computers to use fewer qubits.

“[Using qLDPC] allows error correction in a much faster, much more robust way so that you can scale the system … quite a bit better, actually, than you could before,” Gartner analyst Mark Horvath told Yahoo Finance.

“Surface code and qLDPC are kind of doing the same thing with error correction. It’s just that qLDPC does it a lot more efficiently,” he explained.

“This will be a real advantage,” Horvath continued. “Everybody else is going to have to license that technology if they want to use it or try to invent it on their own, which would be expensive.”

Meanwhile, Horvath expects “useful” quantum computers will arrive within the next five years.

Tech CEOs have previously projected longer timelines. Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said in January that useful quantum computing was decades away, which sent quantum stocks tumbling. Huang later walked back his comments during Nvidia’s “Quantum Day” in March.