IBM (IBM, Financial) shares rose about 2% on Tuesday after the company unveiled a detailed roadmap to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer, according to a blog post published the same day.
The plan introduces a new processor called Quantum Nighthawk, due later this year, which will replace the current Heron chip. Nighthawk is initially designed to run circuits with 5,000 gates, with a goal to triple capacity by 2028.
IBM's long-term aim is a system dubbed Quantum Starling, engineered to correct errors in real time. This relies on a quantum low-density parity check (qLDPC) code, a method that can cut the number of physical qubits needed for error correction by about 90%, making large-scale systems more efficient.
Starling will be developed at IBM's Poughkeepsie Lab in New York, with an expected operational target by decade's end.
The roadmap also sets interim milestones: Quantum Loon in 2025, the Kookaburra processor module in 2026 and the Cockatoo adapter in 2027.
The announcement comes amid intensifying competition in quantum computing, following Google's Willow chip late last year and quantum processors unveiled by Microsoft and Amazon earlier this year.
