Overview
- The companies announced a collaboration to link large, fault-tolerant quantum computers into a network capable of running shared computations.
- IBM targets fault tolerance by 2029, and with Cisco they plan an initial multi‑QPU demonstration within roughly three years and a network proof‑of‑concept by the end of 2030.
- IBM will develop a Quantum Networking Unit to turn stationary qubits into “flying” qubits, while Cisco is building quantum network nodes and a high‑speed protocol to distribute entanglement on demand.
- The envisioned network aims to run problems spanning tens to hundreds of thousands of qubits with potentially trillions of quantum gates, contingent on robust error correction and synchronization.
- Executives said key components, notably microwave‑to‑optical transducers and precise timing over fiber, do not yet exist and will be advanced through open‑source efforts with groups such as SQMS at Fermilab.