A new era in quantum computing is dawning as IBM unveils its roadmap to building the world's first large-scale, error-tolerant quantum computer.

IBM announced on the 12th that it plans to debut IBM Quantum Starling at its new IBM Quantum Data Center in Poughkeepsie, New York in 2029.

Starling can perform 20,000 times more computations than current quantum computers, and to represent its computational state, even the world's most powerful supercomputers would need more than a quindecillion (10^48) of memory.

This is a major advance that provides the ability to explore complex quantum states that are inaccessible to classical computers.

IBM has been operating several quantum computers for some time, laying the foundation for developing practical, error-tolerant quantum computers.

“IBM is opening a new horizon in quantum computing,” said Arvind Krishna, IBM Chairman and CEO. “We will combine our expertise in mathematics, physics, and engineering to realize large-scale, error-tolerant quantum computers that can solve real-world problems.”

A massively error-tolerant quantum computer could execute hundreds of millions to billions of quantum operations using hundreds to thousands of logical qubits. It is expected to lead innovative changes in various fields such as new drug development, material discovery, chemistry, and optimization.

Starling will perform 100 million quantum operations using 200 logical qubits, and will eventually evolve into IBM Quantum Blue Jay, which will be able to perform 1 billion quantum operations using 2,000 logical qubits.

IBM's new quantum roadmap includes three key processors for building large-scale, fault-tolerant systems.

IBM Quantum Loon (2025) will validate the architecture for qLDPC codes and include C-couplers to connect qubits over longer distances within the chip.

IBM Quantum Kookaburra (2026) is IBM's first modular processor that combines quantum memory and logic operations.

IBM Quantum Cockatoo (2027) is a scalable quantum system built by connecting two Kookaburra modules with an L-coupler.

All of these technological advancements will come to fruition in 2029 with the advent of IBM Quantum Starling, which IBM has detailed in a blog post and a recent video.

As quantum computing becomes established as a tool for solving practical problems in the real world, interest from companies and research institutes is expected to grow. IBM's announcement is expected to be an important milestone for quantum computers entering the commercialization stage.