IBM has set a course to build the world’s first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer, called IBM Quantum Starling. The new quantum computer is expected to perform 20,000 times more operations than current quantum computers.
Starling will be built in a new IBM Quantum Data Center in Poughkeepsie, New York and is expected to run by 2029. To represent the computational state of an IBM Starling would require the memory of more than a quindecillion (1048) of the world’s most powerful supercomputers.
The quantum computer will have hundreds or thousands of logical qubits, which can run hundreds of millions to billions of operations, accelerating time and cost efficiencies in fields such as drug development, materials discovery, chemistry, and optimization.
Starling is part of IBM’s larger Quantum Roadmap, which outlines its plans to build a practical, fault-tolerant quantum computer. The roadmap includes the development of two new technical papers that detail how IBM will solve the challenges of building large-scale quantum computers.
The first paper introduces a new code called qLDPC, which drastically reduces the number of physical qubits needed for error correction and cuts required overhead by approximately 90 percent. The second paper describes how to efficiently decode information from physical qubits and charts a path to identify and correct errors in real-time with conventional computing resources.
IBM’s Quantum Roadmap includes several processor designs, including IBM Quantum Loon, expected in 2025, and IBM Quantum Kookaburra, expected in 2026. These processors will test architecture components for the qLDPC code and demonstrate key technology milestones towards building a fault-tolerant quantum computer.
The development of Starling is an important step towards practical and scalable quantum computing. With its large-scale, fault-tolerant design, IBM Quantum Starling has the potential to revolutionize fields such as medicine, finance, and energy.
Source: https://newsroom.ibm.com/2025-06-10-IBM-Sets-the-Course-to-Build-Worlds-First-Large-Scale,-Fault-Tolerant-Quantum-Computer-at-New-IBM-Quantum-Data-Center