International Business Machines Corp (NYSE:IBM) and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO, XETRA:CIS) have announced a collaboration aimed at developing a network of large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers.
The partnership combines IBM’s expertise in quantum computing with Cisco’s innovations in quantum networking. The companies said the effort seeks to scale distributed quantum computing systems with tens to hundreds of thousands of qubits and could lay the groundwork for a future quantum computing internet.
IBM and Cisco plan to demonstrate a proof-of-concept networked quantum computing system within five years and aim to establish a connected quantum network by the early 2030s.
“At IBM, our roadmap includes plans to deliver large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers before the end of the decade,” said Jay Gambetta, Director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow. “By working with Cisco to explore how to link multiple quantum computers like these together into a distributed network, we will pursue how to further scale quantum’s computational power.”
IBM will develop a Quantum Networking Unit (QNU) to interface quantum processors with the network, converting stationary quantum information into transmittable quantum data.
Cisco will focus on creating high-speed software protocols capable of dynamically reconfiguring network paths to distribute quantum entanglement between nodes on demand.
The companies also plan to explore transmission of qubits over longer distances using optical-photon and microwave-optical transducer technologies.
“IBM is building quantum computers with aggressive roadmaps for scale-up, and we are bringing quantum networking that enables scale-out,” said Vijoy Pandey, senior vice president at Outshift by Cisco. “Together, we are solving this as a complete system problem, including the hardware to connect quantum computers, the software to run computations across them, and the networking intelligence that makes them work."
The collaboration will involve research institutions and national laboratories, including the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center, to innovate hardware and software solutions for scalable quantum data centers and quantum networking bridges.
IBM and Cisco said their ultimate goal is to form a distributed quantum computing supercomputing framework capable of running highly complex quantum algorithms beyond the reach of individual quantum computers.
According to the companies, a connected quantum network could eventually support global quantum communications, sensing, and distributed computing, forming the basis of a quantum computing internet by the late 2030s.
IBM and Cisco also plan to co-fund academic research and collaborative projects to advance the broader quantum ecosystem, continuing a long history of partnerships with universities and national laboratories.
Wedbush analysts said the announcement marked an important milestone for quantum computing, highlighting the challenge of linking quantum computers over long distances and noting that the companies hope to begin shipping solutions by the end of 2030.
They added that the Supercomputing Conference 2025 represented the first time quantum technology had its own dedicated space at the annual Supercomputing conference, and that universities and national labs often serve as the first testing grounds for new technology.
“Remember the first Nvidia accelerators were deployed in 2012, about one decade before the release of ChatGPT4 initiated the generative AI cycle,” the analysts wrote, suggesting that this collaboration could similarly signal the early stages of a broader quantum computing cycle.
Shares of IBM added 0.6% at $290 on the news, while Cisco stock was down 2.1% at $77.