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Since 2016, when IBM offered the first open access to an online 5-qubit quantum computer, it has been committed to accelerating and scaling the growth of the quantum computing ecosystem. Its commitment to the quantum ecosystem continues unabated today. Although large in scope and number of members, the IBM Quantum Network is only a small part of IBM’s total ecosystem support fabric.

IBM recently announced the membership of LG Electronics in the IBM Quantum Network. LG Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea, employing over 80,000 people worldwide. The IBM Quantum Network also includes other electronic industry giants such as Toshiba, Sony, Samsung, Hitachi, and others.

LG Electronics plans to leverage the IBM Quantum Network to help it explore the application of quantum computing for various applications such as artificial intelligence, connected cars, digital transformation, IoT, and robotics applications.

Global IBM Quantum Network membership

The IBM Quantum Network is global in scope and has more than 170 members. There are many significant benefits for all companies and research organizations that belong to the network. The benefits include:

  • Premier access via the cloud to IBM’s most advanced quantum computing systems and quantum development tools
  • Access to IBM quantum experts for technical support, training, and collaborative research. 
  • Use of proprietary Qiskit extensions. Qiskit is an open-source, modular, and extensible quantum programming framework.

Experimenting with quantum today is essential to leveraging quantum advantage in the future.

IBM’s hardware and software quantum roadmap is useful not only to IBM Quantum Network members but also to the entire quantum ecosystem. The roadmap facilitates planning by forecasting IBM’s planned hardware and software developments to 2026 and beyond. As a member of the network, LG Electronics will be able to take advantage of future advances and breakthroughs and apply them to its business. 

When initially published in 2020, IBM’s roadmap forecast the release of a new 127-qubit quantum processor in the following year. Right on schedule, IBM delivered on that forecast in late 2021 with the announcement of its new Eagle processor, the first quantum computer with 127 high-quality qubits, surpassing the 113-qubit Jiuzhang Chinese quantum superconducting computer. Technical improvements incorporated in the Eagle will also be part of future IBM quantum processors – for next year’s planned 433-qubit Osprey and the 1121-qubit Condor in 2023. Sometime beyond 2023, IBM is planning to release a quantum computer with one million qubits or more.  There remains a lot of research to be done by the entire ecosystem before that is possible.

Byoung-Hoon Kim is the Chief Technical Officer and Executive Vice President of LG Electronics. According to IBM’s press release, he said,"Based on our open innovation strategy, we plan to use IBM Quantum to develop our competency in quantum computing. We aim to provide customers with value that they have not experienced so far by leveraging quantum computing technology in future businesses."


Note: Moor Insights & Strategy writers and editors may have contributed to this article. 

 

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