IBM plans 1,040-qubit quantum computer by linking two chips in 2027
IBM announced it will link two Nighthawk r3 quantum chips with 520 qubits each to build a 1,040-qubit system in 2027.
IBM's new Nighthawk r3 chip can run 10,000 quantum operations on 520 usable qubits. Each chip has 10 connectors, and IBM says two of them will form a single 1,040-qubit quantum computer.
Linking chips is one of the hardest problems in quantum computing. IBM has already linked earlier Nighthawk chips at 99.3% accuracy, short of its 99.9% goal.
The current Nighthawk r2 chip launched in September and can produce up to 100,000 results per second. Customers have run 34 billion programs on it with speedups of up to 19 times over older Heron chips.
- 520 per chip
- Nighthawk r3 qubits
- 1,040 qubits in 2027
- Target system size
- 100,000 results per second
- Nighthawk r2 speed
- 34 billion
- Programs run on r2
Why it mattersLarger quantum computers could solve real-world problems faster, from optimising power grids to drug discovery, and IBM's progress signals the technology is moving toward practical use.
AustraliaNo direct Australian effect yet, but breakthroughs in quantum computing could eventually power advances in Australian industries like energy, agriculture, and finance.
