Forward-looking: IBM has outlined a plan to build the world's first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer. Dubbed Quantum Starling, the machine is expected to deliver 20,000 times the compute of modern quantum computers at full capacity. The machine will be housed at a new IBM Quantum Data Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, and is on track to be operational by 2029. The platform will feature 200 logical qubits capable of running 100 million quantum operations.
A logical qubit is defined as a single unit of an error-corrected quantum computer that is tasked with storing one qubit's worth of information, and is comprised of multiple physical qubits working in tandem to help reduce errors.
According to IBM, the computational state of Starling would require the memory of more than a quindecillion (1 followed by 48 zeros) of the world's most powerful supercomputers.
In quantum computing, error correction is the name of the game. To date, modern error-correcting code has been sufficient enough for small-scale experiments and devices. At scale, however, leading code would require an unfeasible number of physical qubits.
To get around this roadblock, IBM is working on a couple of different solutions. One involves analyzing the efficiency of running quantum low-density parity check (qLDPC) code, which reduces the number of physical qubits needed for error correction. According to IBM, qLDPC code reduces overhead by up to 90 percent.
The tech giant is also working on a way to better decode information from physical qubits, which could eventually lead to real-time error correction using conventional computing resources. Papers on both research paths are available for those interested in digging deeper.
IBM also mapped out its multi-year approach to realizing Starling, which involves no less than three milestones. Later this year, the company plans to test architecture components for the qLDPC code before rolling out a modular processor in 2026. In 2027, IBM hopes to entangle two of the modular chips using L-couplers – effectively linking them together like nodes is a larger system.
IBM aims to build world's most powerful, fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029
