Redazione RHC : 1 September 2025 08:24
IBM and AMD will develop new computing architectures at the intersection of quantum and classical approaches, writes the AMD press office. Executives from IBM and AMD announced a partnership in August 2025 to build quantum-centric supercomputers, next-generation architectures that combine quantum computing and high-performance computing (HPC).
Engineers from both companies plan to explore how IBM’s quantum technologies can be integrated with AMD’s processors, graphics accelerators, and Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) chips, and to analyze the role of open ecosystems such as the Quantum Information Software Kit (Qiskit) in the development and deployment of new algorithms that leverage quantum computing. The goal is to create scalable and open platforms that, according to developers, could redefine the future of computing.
The IT infrastructure created by IBM and AMD will help accelerate research in pharmaceuticals, materials science, optimization, and logistics. The first demonstration of the project is planned for 2025.“Quantum computing will open up new possibilities for modeling natural processes and storing information in fundamentally new formats,” said IBM CEO Arvind Krishna.“By combining IBM quantum computers with AMD’s advanced computing technologies, we are creating a powerful hybrid IT model that will push the limits of classical computing,” the company president added.
Lisa Su, AMD CEO, said: “High Performance Computing is the foundation on which IT can rely to solve major global challenges. Collaborating with IBM and exploring the combination of HPC systems and quantum technologies opens up tremendous opportunities to accelerate scientific discovery and innovation.” In June 2025, IBM and Japan’s RIKEN National Research Laboratory announced the signing of a new partnership. IBM unveiled the first IBM Quantum System Two installed outside the United States, directly connected to the Fugaku supercomputer.
The system uses a 156-qubit Heron processor, which surpasses the previous generation in both error rate and speed, enabling circuit operations 10 times faster than before. This integration will enable the development of quantum-classical workflows, solving problems that neither quantum nor classical computers can solve alone. According to IBM engineers, the goal is to develop and demonstrate practical hybrid quantum HPC workflows suitable for both academia and industry.
This low-level integration enables RIKEN and IBM engineers to develop parallel workloads, quantum-classical communication protocols with minimal latency, and advanced compilers and libraries, said Mitsuhisa Sato, director of RIKEN Quantum-HPC. Sato explained that because quantum and classical systems have different computing power, this allows each to efficiently execute the parts of the algorithm for which it is best suited.
IBM has updated its plan to create the world’s first fault-tolerant quantum computer for solving practical problems; the system has been named Sterling. It will operate with 200 logical qubits. Commissioning is scheduled for 2029. As IBM representatives state on their website, there is no longer any scientific barrier to creating this system as of June 2025, and now only ordinary engineering problems need to be solved.
Redazione