Chicago is now home to IBM’s 120-qubit quantum computer, while Illinois is providing $25 million for equipment and technical preparations related to its planned transfer to a future research park.
IBM Quantum System Two is operating at Hyde Park Labs, where the University of Chicago is hosting it. IBM says the installation is its first quantum computer in Illinois and the most advanced system it currently offers.
IBM and the University of Chicago report 120 qubits and 218 tunable couplers for the IBM Quantum Nighthawk r2 processor. The processor follows a square-lattice architecture.
System Two is slated to relocate to the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP). Construction is underway on land once occupied by U.S. Steel’s South Works. Park plans also include a National Quantum Algorithm Center.
Illinois said the $25 million grant went to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees on IQMP’s behalf. The funds cover equipment and technical preparations for the system’s installation and later transfer. EconoTimes previously covered the grant for System Two. Illinois has presented IQMP as a way to draw private capital and expand opportunities for research, businesses and workers.
IBM expects its planned FutureNow Chicago delivery center at IQMP to add 750 full-time technology jobs. Officials have not announced a date for the system’s move.
