IBM and the U.S. Department of Commerce announced on May 21 a Letter of Intent to build America’s first purpose-built quantum chip foundry, with support from a proposed $1 billion CHIPS award. The new company, Anderon, will be headquartered in Albany, New York and is set to operate as a standalone state-of-the-art 300-millimeter quantum wafer foundry.
The initiative aims to secure the nation’s global leadership in quantum technology and foster growth in the country’s expanding quantum ecosystem. The project is supported by $1 billion in incentives from the Department of Commerce, matched by IBM’s own $1 billion cash investment into Anderon along with intellectual property, assets, and workforce contributions. Additional investors are expected as Anderon grows.
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said, “With today’s CHIPS Research and Development investments in quantum computing, the Trump administration is leading the world into a new era of American innovation. These strategic quantum technology investments will build on our domestic industry, creating thousands of high-paying American jobs while advancing American quantum capabilities.”
Bill Frauenhofer, Executive Director of Semiconductor Investment and Innovation at the Department of Commerce said: “The Department of Commerce’s incentives strengthen and accelerate U.S. quantum leadership and technological resilience. Quantum computing has significant implications for national defense, advanced materials and biopharmaceutical discovery, financial modeling and energy systems.”
Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO of IBM said: “IBM has pioneered quantum computing for decades. Our work in silicon wafer fabrication has been a key to IBM’s success and will be critical to enable a broader quantum technology landscape that will reshape global innovation and economic competitiveness. With the support of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Anderon will be well-positioned to fuel America’s fast-growing quantum technology industry.”
Anderon intends to serve as an anchor for national efforts in scalable manufacturing for superconducting qubit wafers initially but plans expansion into other modalities over time. The company’s forthcoming processes expect to offer advanced technologies such as superconducting wiring through-silicon vias alongside established production capabilities like dedicated process design kits.
The launch remains subject to final negotiations between IBM and the Department of Commerce according to their current letter of intent.
