IBM advances in DARPA’s benchmarking for quantum computing

IBM announced it has been selected for Stage C, the third phase of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI) led by DARPA, the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

This phase will advance IBM through DARPA’s verification process, in which independent
experts extensively test and measure quantum hardware, technology, systems engineering, and architectures to determine if a company can build a fault-tolerant quantum computer.

Moving closer to practical quantum computing is significant because it could unlock classes of problems that are effectively impossible for today’s fastest supercomputers. IBM has outlined its plan to build IBM Quantum Starling, a fault-tolerant quantum computer, by 2029.

“Advancing to the third stage of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative validates the strength of IBM’s path to building a fault-tolerant quantum computer,” said Jay Gambetta, director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow, in a statement. “IBM expects to deliver the first fault-tolerant system in 2029, and we plan to scale the value of quantum computing well beyond that timeline. We look forward to working with DARPA’s team of experts as they advance their review of approaches to fault-tolerant quantum computing into the testing phase.”