IBM, the Quantum Science Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and AMD announced on November 5, 2026, the launch of a co-design platform for quantum error correction that co-locates IBM quantum computers with ORNL's Umbra High-Performance Computing system powered by AMD hardware.

Key Highlights

  • 120-qubit processor deployed: The platform's first deployment includes IBM's 120-qubit IBM Quantum Nighthawk, described as IBM's most powerful quantum processor.
  • AMD hardware powers classical computing: ORNL's Umbra system, the classical computing foundation, is composed of AMD Instinct MI355X GPUs and 5th Gen AMD EPYC CPUs.
  • DOE Quantum Genesis Mission alignment: The platform is designed to support the Department of Energy's Q Competition target of 100 logical qubits running 100,000 hard operations by late 2028.
  • Current IBM progress: IBM has demonstrated experiments with up to 70 logical qubits and 438 hard operations, according to the announcement, with the filing noting a roughly 230-fold increase in hard operation count still needed.
  • ORNL connection to leadership computing: The platform will connect with the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
  • Prior AMD collaboration noted: IBM and AMD previously demonstrated an algorithm that efficiently decodes quantum errors on AMD chips, and IBM is using AMD GPUs to accelerate the classical diagonalization step in sample-based quantum diagonalization workflows.

IBM, ORNL, and AMD Co-Design Platform: Quantum Error Correction at Scale

According to the announcement, IBM (NYSE:IBM), the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Quantum Science Center (QSC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) unveiled a co-design platform intended to advance quantum error correction research by integrating quantum and high-performance classical computing. The first deployment co-locates IBM's quantum computers, including the 120-qubit IBM Quantum Nighthawk, with ORNL's Umbra HPC system. The filing states that the AMD compute "provides the classical computing foundation for research into quantum error correction, decoding optimization, and software orchestration."

The announcement describes the platform's research focus as helping close a significant performance gap. The Department of Energy's Q Competition, part of the Quantum Genesis Mission, targets 100 logical qubits running 100,000 hard operations by late 2028. IBM's current demonstrated progress stands at up to 70 logical qubits and 438 hard operations, which the filing states represents a need for "a roughly 230-fold increase in hard operation count." The co-design platform is intended to allow researchers to evaluate different error correction approaches, including concatenated codes, space-time codes, algorithm-aware decoders, and hardware-aware circuit optimization.

The filing notes that IBM's Quantum System API gives researchers "deep pulse-level capabilities," including the ability to measure qubits mid-calculation and act on results in real time. The announcement also states that learnings from this effort "may inform IBM's path to IBM Quantum Starling, IBM's first fault-tolerant quantum computer, and future SI (Super Intelligence) + HPC supercomputers." These statements reflect the company's own characterizations and are subject to its cautionary language.

What Was Disclosed

IBM, ORNL, and AMD disclosed the launch of a quantum error correction co-design platform co-locating IBM's 120-qubit Nighthawk processor with ORNL's AMD-powered Umbra HPC system, aligned with the Department of Energy's Quantum Genesis Mission and its late 2028 performance targets.