IBM unveils quantum processor with 433 qubits

IBM unveiled its most powerful quantum processor, Osprey, with 433 qubits (quantum bits) at the company’s Quantum Summit 2022 on Wednesday. Osprey offers three times more qubits than the 127 qubit based Eagle quantum processor, which was unveiled last November. 

A qubit is the basic unit of quantum information. Higher qubit means more computing power. 

“The new 433 qubit ‘Osprey’ processor brings us a step closer to the point where quantum computers will be used to tackle previously unsolvable problems,” Darío Gil, senior vice president, IBM, and director of research said in a statement. 

Gil noted that the new processor will prove foundational for the coming era of quantum-based supercomputing. 

The new quantum processor is part of IBM’s larger goal of building a modular quantum system with a 4,000 qubit processor by 2025.  IBM said in May that it will use chip-level couplers to integrate multiple smaller chips like Osprey and Eagle to create a large 4,000 qubit processor. IBM is also working on a quantum processor called Condor, which will have 1,121 qubits. 

On Wednesday, IBM also said that the modular quantum system will be operational by the end of 2023. 

“Our breakthroughs define the next wave in quantum, which we call quantum-centric supercomputing, where modularity, communication, and middleware will contribute to enhanced scaling computation capacity, and integration of quantum and classical workflows,” said Jay Gambetta, IBM fellow and vice president of IBM Quantum. 

Further, IBM also announced that German company Bosch is now part of the IBM Quantum Network, along with UK-based telco Vodafone and French bank Credit Mutuel Alliance Federale. These companies will work with IBM to explore use cases in their respective sectors. 

“As we continue to increase the scale of quantum systems and make them simpler to use, we will continue to see adoption and growth of the quantum industry,” added Gambetta. 

Quantum computers use principles of quantum physics to process information and use an alternative form of computing, which allows them to run complex computations that are beyond the capacity of classical computers.   

IBM claims the number of classical bits required to represent a state on the Osprey quantum processor exceeds the total number of atoms in the known universe.  

Unlike classical computers, where bits can represent a single binary value of 1 or 0. Quantum computers use quantum properties such as superposition to represent bits 1 and 0 simultaneously. This allows it to solve complex problems in a fraction of the time taken by classical computers.