TLDR : IBM announced its Quantum Starling system, a large-scale error-tolerant quantum computer capable of 20,000 times more operations than current machines, targeted for 2029.
IBM yesterday unveiled its roadmap towards Quantum Starling, a large-scale error-tolerant quantum computer. This system, announced as capable of executing 20,000 times more operations than current quantum machines, will be built in its brand-new quantum data center located in Poughkeepsie, New York State.
Scheduled for 2029, Quantum Starling is expected to integrate 200 logical qubits and allow the execution of 100 million quantum operations. It will form the basis of the future "Blue Jay" system, which aims for a billion operations thanks to 2,000 logical qubits.
A logical qubit is a computing unit constructed from multiple physical qubits. Together, these qubits cooperate to store quantum information while actively correcting errors that may disrupt the computation. This mechanism is essential, as current quantum computers remain limited both by the low number of available logical qubits and by a high error rate, which makes it difficult to reliably execute complex circuits.
To overcome this hurdle, IBM relies on "quantum Low-Density Parity Check" (qLDPC) error correction codes, recently highlighted in Nature. These codes allow for a reduction of up to 90% in the number of physical qubits needed for error correction compared to classical approaches, thus paving the way for more realistic scaling of quantum architectures.
A step towards quantum advantage
Thanks to its Quantum Eagle and Quantum Heron processors, IBM has demonstrated that its quantum systems can execute certain classes of calculations with greater efficiency than classical computers.
The development of Quantum Starling will build on their successors. IBM plans to deploy the "Quantum Loon" processor in 2025, designed to validate the key elements of the qLDPC architecture, particularly the "C-type couplers," which ensure long-distance connections between qubits on the same chip.
In 2026, the "Quantum Kookaburra" processor will introduce the first complete modular architecture, combining quantum memory and computing logic. This modularity will be extended in 2027 with "Quantum Cockatoo," which will use "L-type couplers" to interconnect two Kookaburra modules stably. The whole prepares the transition to multi-chip systems capable of executing complex quantum circuits under conditions of optimized energy efficiency and integration.
The targeted application domains include molecular modeling, the discovery of new materials, quantum chemistry, and large-scale optimization. These are fields where the computing power needs today exceed the capabilities of existing machines, and where the stability of calculations requires genuinely error-tolerant quantum architectures.