.svg){kind=spacer}
Details
- IBM introduced two new quantum processors on November 12, 2025: Nighthawk, a 120-qubit processor with 218 tunable couplers, set for release by the end of 2025, and Loon, an experimental chip aimed at advancing fault-tolerant quantum computing.
- IBM is collaborating with partners including Algorithmiq, the Flatiron Institute, and BlueQubit to accelerate development and deployment of quantum technologies.
- Nighthawk’s architecture enables it to execute circuits with up to 5,000 two-qubit gates, while future versions are projected to scale to 7,500 gates by 2026, 10,000 by 2027, and 15,000 by 2028. Loon leverages qLDPC codes to achieve real-time error correction in less than 480 nanoseconds, a major milestone for fault tolerance.
- IBM's Qiskit software update delivers a 24% increase in computational accuracy and reduces operational costs by 100 times. A new C++ interface supports integration with high-performance computing systems.
- Quantum chip fabrication has moved to 300mm wafer facilities in Albany, drastically reducing development cycles and enabling rapid scaling of processor complexity and capacity.
Impact
With this announcement, IBM reasserts its leadership in quantum computing, as evidenced by its advancement in DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative and its aggressive hardware and manufacturing roadmap. The newly expanded fabrication capabilities mark a shift from research prototypes toward industrial-scale quantum hardware, intensifying competition with rivals like Google and IonQ. These milestones suggest IBM is well-positioned to achieve practical quantum advantage by 2026 and pioneer early fault-tolerant systems by 2029.
