Technology stalwart Intenational Business Machines (IBM) has accomplished many milestones since it began selling commercial scales, industrial time recorders, and punched-card tabulators in 1911.
These include:
- Developing the first large-scale automatic digital computer in 1944
- Introducing the first commercial stored-program computer in 1952
- Creating the world's first magnetic hard disk in 1956
- Developing FORTRAN, the first widely used programming language, in 1957
- Building the Saturn V rocket guidance systems that sent the first men to the moon
- Inventing magnetic strips used for credit cards in the 1970s
- Building the highly popular IBM model 5150, which became a dominant platform in the microcomputer market in 1981
- Pivoting to bet big on software in the 2000s
Now IBM is set on another significant milestone: developing commercial-grade quantum computers with the help of another seasoned tech company, Advanced Micro Devices, which was founded 56 years ago.
What is quantum computing (simplified)?
Today, our computers use bits that can only be 0 or 1 (called binary code) and perform tasks one at a time.
Related: Microsoft CEO sends a surprising message on quantum computing
In contrast, Quantum computers use a qubit that can simultaneously be 0, 1, or a combination in something called superposition. By linking qubits, which is called entanglement, you can further increase processing power, allowing complex calculations to be done simultaneously.
How quantum computers may be used
The speed and power associated with leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics for computing are expected to unlock insight that would otherwise take generations.
While all the real-world applications of quantum computing remain to be seen, it could eventually be used to develop new materials and better medicines, enabling the development of next-generation airplanes, rockets, and autonomous vehicles.
Banks may use it to improve risk models, while technology companies use it to create next-generation cybersecurity solutions and accelerate artificial intelligence and machine learning.
IBM teams up with AMD to merge AI and quantum computing
IBM has been working on quantum computing for about 20 years, and it launched IBM Quantum Experience — an early online quantum computing platform — in 2016.
These days, the company's goal is to create its first fault-tolerant, commercially available quantum computer by 2029. Its Starling supercomputer system will autocorrect quantum errors on the fly, enabling commercial-grade use by government and enterprises.
Specifically, IBM said:
“When it’s complete, that system will have the ability to run 100 million logical operations on 200 logical qubits — a feat that no quantum computer on earth can achieve today.”
It's a big goal, and reaching it will require extensive collaboration with technology partners who are also developing next-generation solutions to power its systems.
Related: IonQ makes surprising move to drive quantum computing adoption
To that end, IBM (IBM) and AMD (AMD) revealed on Aug. 26 that they'll be working together, leveraging IBM's quantum computing chops and AMD's research into artificial intelligence chips to build next-generation computers.
IBM isn't the first to tap into AMD's prowess in building high-performance CPUs and GPUs for superfast computing.
“AMD processors, both CPUs and GPUs, power the U.S. Department of Energy's ‘Frontier' supercomputer at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This is the first supercomputer to ever officially break the exascale barrier,” wrote Wall Street veteran analyst Stephen Guilfoyle on TheStreet Pro. “The exascale barrier is the ability of a system to achieve a quintillion calculations per second.”
Quantum computers are anticipated to be even faster than exascale computers for complex applications because they can perform tasks simultaneously, allowing them to tackle problems considered unsolvable today.
As IBM explained:
“By taking advantage of quantum physics, large-scale quantum computers would be able to tackle certain complex problems many times faster than modern classical machines. With a quantum computer, some problems that might take a classical computer thousands of years to solve might be solved in a matter of minutes or hours.”
The collaboration with AMD offers IBM some pretty compelling benefits, including access to AMD's AI accelerators like its AMD Instinct lineup, including the MI350 Series chips built to compete against Nvidia's Blackwell AI chips.
Hyperscalers increasingly use AMD's M-series chips to handle AI training and inference in their cloud data centers.
“As we partner with IBM to explore the convergence of high-performance computing and quantum technologies, we see tremendous opportunities to accelerate discovery and innovation,” said AMD's CEO Lisa Su about the collaboration.
Why the IBM-AMD partnership matters
Let's face it: Some things are better than others at specific tasks, and IBM and AMD's new relationship recognizes that this applies to computers, too.
While quantum computers will excel at simulations, supercomputers like Frontier can excel at machine learning. Merging the strengths from each approach could significantly accelerate timelines for turning ideas into real-world solutions.
“In the future, quantum computers could simulate the behavior of atoms and molecules, while classical supercomputers powered by AI could handle massive data analysis,” IBM said.
“Together, these technologies could tackle real-world problems at unprecedented speed and scale.”
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IBM believes that working together to merge AMD's CPUs, GPUs, and FPGAs with its quantum computers will support its 2029 goals, partly by enabling real-time error corrections.
That could unleash a tremendous opportunity for IBM.
“Surging investment and faster-than-expected innovation could propel the quantum market to $100 billion in a decade,” wrote McKinsey analysts in June.
McKinsey estimates that quantum computing revenue could skyrocket from about $4 billion in 2024 to up to $72 billion in 2035.
“We predict that by 2040, the total QT [quantitative technology] market could reach $198 billion,” wrote McKinsey.
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