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  • đŸ”” The Quantum Insider Weekly | IBM Stands (Error) Corrected. Sentiment Shift? And More News.

đŸ”” The Quantum Insider Weekly | IBM Stands (Error) Corrected. Sentiment Shift? And More News.

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FROM THE EDITOR.

One of the concepts that slipped in the cracks between this week’s quantum headline parade was “algorithmic innovation”.

It was a term Jay Gambetta , the Vice President of IBM'sl Quantum initiative, discussed during a press conference on IBM’s error correction advance and roadmap update. I don’t want to put words in Jay’s mouth, but my interpretation is that we tend to focus on hardware performance measures in quantum — measures like qubit count, coherency, etc. But we might be discounting a serious disrupter: the sheer innovative power of algorithmic development.

Now, for quantum, that’s a two-edge sword. Developers working on quantum algorithms, which essentially is in its infancy, are liable to make huge, unexpected strides that could change our expectations of, for example, quantum advantage. Likewise, innovators working on classical algorithms might be able to match quantum results.

For Jay, this is great for science and that competition — though not sure this is actually a competition — could lead to the types of advances that can change the world. But, the bugger of it is, for those who love certainty, this trend is impossible to predict and incredibly difficult to benchmark. (And if you love certainty, quantum might not be your thing.)

It’s still something to keep an eye on — algorithmic innovation is the wild card on today’s quantum roadmaps. Sorta like, taken from personal experience, when you don’t update your GPS and realize that the road you just turned on was abandoned, turned over to a limestone quarry operation and you’re now facing a group of angry men in the biggest dump truck imaginable.

Speaking of IBM, congrats to that team for their work. And congrats to the IonQ and Oxford Ionics’ teams who had one of this week’s huge announcements. IonQ will be acquiring Oxford Ionics and it will certainly be exciting

Have a great weekend!

— Matt, Chief Content Officer at The Quantum Insider

INSIDER BRIEF.

ANALYST NOTES.

The Noteworthy & Nuanced

IonQ isn’t stopping its acquisition train as it opened the week announcing it will grab Oxford Ionics for over $1B. Combining two of the leaders in trapped ions will surely boost IonQ’s quantum stack while also strengthening its European presence. The deal combines IonQ’s broader quantum computing stack, which spans hardware, software, and networking, with Oxford Ionics’ chip-based trapped-ion technology.

NVIDIA’s stance on quantum seems to be stabilizing, as CEO Jensen Huang said during GTC Paris that “Quantum computing is reaching an inflection point”. Unfortunately, he didn’t say “Infleqtion point”, though Infleqtion was one of the companies present at the dedicated quantum panel, along with Microsoft, Pasqal, Quantinuum, and others.

IBM was not on the panel, likely because they had a big announcement of their own to make. Quantum Starling, the world’s first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer, is planned to be completed by 2029. The system will use 200 logical qubits to run 100M quantum operations and will utilize qLDPC error-correcting codes to reduce physical qubit overhead by up to 90%. — Alan Kanapin, Analyst at The Quantum Insider

The Research Rundown

IonQ is no stranger to quantum headlines this year with consistent announcements of acquisitions and partnerships, but there is even more work on applications happening behind the scenes.

In a joint study with Oak Ridge National Lab, IonQ worked on the notoriously complex unit commitment problem in power grid management, an industrial-scale optimization challenge with direct implications for energy costs and carbon emissions. Their hybrid quantum-classical algorithm delivered near-optimal results while reducing the solution space by orders of magnitude. This is really a great blueprint for a general pragmatic approach: use quantum to navigate vast decision spaces, then refine with classical tools.

Similarly, their work with AstraZeneca, AWS, and NVIDIA reduced simulation times for a key chemical reaction central to drug discovery. These results, achieved on current-generation hardware, may not yet signal full quantum advantage, but they do point toward meaningful commercial relevance. — Cierra Choucair, Journalist & Analyst at The Quantum Insider

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âžĄïž IBM has announced plans to deliver a fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029, called IBM Quantum Starling, capable of running 100 million quantum operations using 200 logical qubits.

âžĄïž The company’s new roadmap includes three modular processors — Loon (2025), Kookaburra (2026), and Cockatoo (2027) — designed to demonstrate scalable components of its fault-tolerant architecture.

âžĄïž Starling will serve as the foundation for IBM Quantum Blue Jay, a next-generation platform with 2,000 logical qubits and the capacity to execute 1 billion operations.

âžĄïž IBM is using quantum low-density parity check (qLDPC) codes to cut physical qubit overhead by 90%, enabling real-time decoding and error correction at scale.

Analyst Commentary

This week, we had a chance to glimpse the rare and exotic birds that IBM is raising in its quantum cage.

IBM published a credible, detailed roadmap to a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer. This is what the quantum industry — and all the industries it will one day serve — wants to see. While Starling’s 2029 launch may sound distant, it introduces near-term milestones and technical pathways that shift the conversation from speculation to structured engineering. We should also recognize that 2029 isn’t some sort of monolith standing on some distant mountain called Advantage. There’s no reason to believe that, based on IBM’s technical papers, that we won’t see the company’s quantum computers tackling, or at least assisting with real-world challenges.

And that is at the core of this roadmap: The pivot from feasibility to practicality. The promise of fault tolerance has long depended on error correction schemes that were either too inefficient or too demanding. IBM’s approach — based on qLDPC codes — challenges that status quo. By slashing the physical overhead by up to 90%, they’re asserting that fault tolerance is no longer a distant aspiration but a reachable benchmark.

The stakes are substantial. Logical qubits — the building blocks of useful quantum computation — require stability over long sequences of operations. Starling targets 200 logical qubits and 100 million operations. That’s enough to execute meaningful algorithms in chemistry, drug discovery and industrial optimization, according to the company. But for IBM, this is just the beginning. Blue Jay, its successor platform, aims to scale to 2,000 logical qubits and 1 billion operations, suggesting IBM’s intent to lock in platform dominance across multiple domains.

What is intriguing about this roadmap is the concrete sequence of hardware progression. Loon (2025) will test in-chip couplers and layout structures. Kookaburra (2026) introduces modularity and quantum memory. Cockatoo (2027) connects those modules via entanglement, laying the groundwork for chip-to-chip scaling without physically oversized wafers. These are not abstract targets — they’re named systems with defined technical purposes. If delivered on schedule, each stage validates a critical pillar of fault-tolerant infrastructure.

Also worth noting: IBM’s framing of quantum operations per platform. Rather than touting qubit counts alone, they’re shifting the focus to total operation volume, which might be a more grounded metric for evaluating utility. Starling’s 100 million operations represent a 20,000x leap over today’s systems, setting a new bar for what constitutes real performance.

Still, the open question is how this architecture performs under real-world constraints: thermal noise, scaling bottlenecks, and control system complexity. Starling will depend not just on novel code but on seamless classical-quantum integration, especially for real-time decoding. IBM’s second technical paper addresses this — laying out how conventional hardware can handle live error correction for a logical processor.

This roadmap doesn’t try to solve everything at once. Instead, it breaks the challenge of fault tolerance into bite-sized engineering sprints. That pragmatism — combined with IBM’s existing fleet and infrastructure in Poughkeepsie — may just be what is needed to position the company as a top contender to commercialize error-corrected quantum platforms before the decade closes.

Let’s take a step back. There are still challenges. Who knows what bumps in the road IBM will face. But, IBM seems committed to move from research-grade systems toward resilient, modular platforms with performance characteristics that matter to industry, government and science. This is a sign of IBM’s commitment to lead.

Now, uncage those birds, IBM!

DATA SPOTLIGHT.

Physicists at the University of Oxford have set a new record for the accuracy of controlling a single quantum bit, achieving the lowest-ever error rate for a quantum logic operation—just 0.000015%, or one error in 6.7M operations. This record-breaking result represents nearly an order of magnitude improvement over the previous benchmark, set by the same research group a decade ago.

INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS.

🇹🇳 China has launched its first production line for thin-film lithium niobate photonic chips, achieving performance benchmarks, like 110+ GHz bandwidth and ultra-low signal loss, that rival or exceed global standards. Developed by CHIPX at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the pilot line positions China to scale rapidly in AI, quantum, and 6G markets.

🇹🇩 Canada has elevated quantum technology to a central focus of its 2025 G7 agenda, framing it as a key enabler of energy security, digital infrastructure, and economic resilience. The move follows months of coordinated industry lobbying and will be followed by the QUANTUM NOW summit in MontrĂ©al.

🔗 Nu Quantum has launched the Quantum Networking Unit, the first modular, rack-mounted platform designed to enable real-time, high-fidelity entanglement across quantum data centers. Developed under the UK’s SBRI program and integrated with CERN’s White Rabbit timing tech, the QNU supports scalable, sub-nanosecond orchestration between quantum processors.

💡 IonQ is acquiring Oxford Ionics in a $1.075 billion deal, combining two leaders in trapped-ion quantum computing to accelerate their roadmap toward fault-tolerant systems.

🇼đŸ‡č Planckian and QTLab have partnered to advance scalable superconducting quantum processors in Italy, testing a new chip design that reduces cryogenic complexity by allowing multiple qubits to share control lines.

🔱 Quobly has launched a high-fidelity quantum software emulator, developed with QPerfect, that allows users to simulate up to 31 logical qubits without errors, supporting sectors from finance to defense.

đŸ—ș Pasqal has released its 2025 roadmap focused on scaling deployments of its neutral-atom quantum processors, achieving domain-specific quantum advantage with a 250-qubit system, and progressing toward fault-tolerant quantum computing. The company plans to integrate over 10,000 physical and 200 logical qubits by 2030, with next-gen systems incorporating photonic integrated circuits for improved fidelity and scalability.

đŸ€ eleQtron has partnered with Research Fab Microelectronics Germany to scale production of its MAGIC© ion-trap quantum chips, integrating MEMS, CMOS, and advanced packaging through institutes like Fraunhofer ENAS and ISIT.

đŸ’°ïž Multiverse Computing has raised €189 million ($215 million) to scale its quantum-inspired AI compression tool, CompactifAI, which reduces LLM size by up to 95% while preserving performance.

đŸ–„ïž ORCA Computing has installed the UK’s first public-sector photonic quantum system at the National Quantum Computing Centre. The PT Series system, operational within 36 hours, will enable hybrid quantum-classical research and has already demonstrated early success in optimization and generative AI tasks.

đŸ–‡ïž SEEQC and IBM have joined forces under DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative to integrate SEEQC’s energy-efficient Single Flux Quantum chip-based control technology with IBM’s quantum systems.

🟠 Orange Business and Toshiba Europe have launched Orange Quantum Defender, the first commercial quantum-safe networking service in Paris, combining QKD and Post-Quantum Cryptography to secure sensitive data against future quantum threats.

🎒 Q-CTRL is expanding access to its Black Opal quantum education platform across India through new partnerships with ELTECH, Kquanta Research, Quantum Biosciences, and Uttkrist, following a successful pilot in Tamil Nadu where 83% of nearly 3,000 students completed the program.

đŸ’” Rigetti Computing has raised $350 million through an at-the-market stock offering, bringing its total cash reserves to $575 million with no debt, positioning the company for long-term growth in superconducting quantum hardware, manufacturing, and potential M&A.

đŸ’· Oxford Instruments will sell its quantum-focused NanoScience division to Quantum Design International for up to ÂŁ60 million, enabling Oxford to sharpen its focus on core markets like semiconductors, life sciences, and materials analysis.

EVENTS.

Now -July 30 -- Womanium & WISER QUANTUM PROGRAM 2025. The 2025 Theme: Quantum solvers: algorithms for the world's hardest problems will be held Mondays & Wednesdays from 10:30 -12:00 ET. Register here.

June 18-19 -- Quantum Now|ICI Quantique will be held in MontrĂ©al, QuĂ©bec, Canada. Where strategic leaders secure their quantum future!

June 24-26 -- Quantum Korea 2025 will take place in Seoul, South Korea, bringing together global researchers, companies, and policymakers to explore emerging trends across the quantum ecosystem.

June 27-29 -- IYQ Global Event: Communicating Quantum Science and Technology to Public will be held at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea with the main event on June 28, bringing together global experts to explore challenges and strategies in public communication of quantum technologies.

Aug. 31– Sept. 5 -- IEEE Quantum Week 2025 will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Sept. 16-18 -- Quantum World Congress 2025 will be held at Capital One Hall in Greater Washington. The event is a chance for the world’s quantum ecosystem to come together and bring a quantum-ready future into focus.

Sept. 24-25 -- Q2B25 Paris at CitĂ© des Sciences et de l’Industrie, Paris, France.

Sept. 29-Oct. 1 -- Quantum.Tech Europe is taking place in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The event will bring together the whole quantum supply chain to drive forward the commercial applications of Quantum Technologies.

Oct. 8 -- The Fifth Anniversary of The City Quantum & AI Summit will take place at the Mansion House in the City of London this year with the subtitle Race for Growth.

Oct. 13-17 -- Quantum Reference Frames 2025 will bring together leading experts on quantum reference frames and the many related subjects in the first focused event in the new era of quantum frame covariance. QRF 2025 is co-funded by the Quantum Information Structure of Spacetime consortium.

Oct. 19-21 -- Q+AI will be held in New York City. This event will uncover the coming wave of Quantum + AI, include 50+ speakers, daily mentoring sessions and 16 sessions, one continuous track.

Nov. 10-12 -- European Quantum Technologies Conference 2025 will be held at Ă˜ksnehallen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Dec. 1-4 -- QUEST-IS 2025 Quantum Engineering Sciences and Technologies for Industry and Services From Quantum Engineering to Applications for Citizens. EDF Lab, Paris-Saclay, France.