IBM has announced its plan to construct the world's first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer. The company aims to deliver this breakthrough, known as IBM Quantum Starling, by 2029 at a new IBM Quantum Data Center in Poughkeepsie, New York. This development is expected to perform 20,000 times more operations than current quantum computers.

The initiative is part of IBM's new Quantum Roadmap, which outlines the company's strategy for creating a practical and scalable quantum computer. "IBM is charting the next frontier in quantum computing," stated Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO of IBM. He emphasized that their expertise across various scientific disciplines is paving the way for solving real-world challenges through quantum computing.

A significant feature of Starling will be its ability to run 100 million quantum operations using 200 logical qubits. This capability will lay the groundwork for future advancements like IBM Quantum Blue Jay, which aims to execute one billion operations over 2,000 logical qubits.

Logical qubits are crucial components in error-corrected quantum computers and are made from multiple physical qubits working together. They help reduce errors and allow larger workloads without faults by forming clusters that suppress error rates exponentially.

IBM has introduced two technical papers detailing how they plan to achieve a large-scale fault-tolerant architecture using qLDPC codes. These codes significantly reduce the number of physical qubits needed for error correction compared to other methods.

The roadmap also includes upcoming processors such as IBM Quantum Loon in 2025 and IBM Quantum Kookaburra in 2026. These processors will test architecture components and store encoded information necessary for scaling fault-tolerant systems beyond a single chip.

This project represents a significant step forward in quantum computing technology and sets a path toward achieving scalable fault tolerance by the end of this decade.