Miles Jamison 
- IBM’s Quantum System Two is now operational at Hyde Park Labs in Chicago
- The system will initially anchor the National Quantum Algorithm Center
- IBM and partners are working on quantum applications in drug discovery, energy and physics
IBM has deployed its first quantum computing system in Illinois, with the machine now operating at Hyde Park Labs in Chicago. The company said Friday that its Quantum System Two, powered by IBM’s most advanced quantum chip, will support research collaborations involving universities, national laboratories and private-sector organizations developing quantum computing applications.
The quantum computer will initially serve as the anchor system of the National Quantum Algorithm Center, or NQAC, established in 2024 by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker with IBM as a leading member. When IBM and the state unveiled plans for the center in December 2024, they said users would be able to run workloads on the system and integrate it with Qiskit to develop new quantum applications. Partners named at the time included the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Chicago Quantum Exchange members and the Bloch Quantum Technology Hub.
The system is scheduled to relocate to the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, or IQMP, a Chicago campus under construction that will focus on quantum technology and microelectronics. The park is also home to the Quantum Proving Ground, which the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency created through a 2024 agreement with Illinois to test and evaluate quantum technologies.
What Will IBM’s New Quantum Computer Be Used For?
IBM and its partner organizations are exploring how quantum computing can tackle complex computational problems. Several of these efforts are part of NQAC’s Grand Challenges, an initiative that brings together industry and academic partners to investigate potential applications of the technology.
A recent IBM-University of Chicago effort demonstrated that quantum computing could outperform leading classical methods through an approach with guaranteed correctness.
Other Grand Challenges projects focus on applications in healthcare and energy. Deloitte and AbbVie are collaborating with IBM and Northwestern University to develop quantum molecular simulation methods that could support drug discovery research. Meanwhile, the Electric Power Research Institute and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are working with IBM to examine how quantum optimization algorithms could enhance power grid efficiency.
IBM is also partnering with Fermilab to explore quantum computing applications in high-energy physics research and advance technologies for distributed quantum computing.
IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna said the deployment builds on the company’s existing partnerships with Illinois universities and businesses and extends access to scientifically useful quantum computing capabilities to organizations in the state and beyond.
How Will the System Support Illinois’ Workforce?
IBM said the system is also intended to grow Illinois’ quantum talent pool. In a separate effort announced earlier this year, IBM is partnering with City Colleges of Chicago to establish FutureNow Chicago at the IQMP, which is slated to generate 750 jobs in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, quantum computing and related technology fields.
What Is IBM’s Role in Federal Quantum Programs?
The Illinois deployment adds to IBM’s work with federal quantum initiatives. In May, the Department of Commerce chose IBM as one of nine companies to share $2 billion in quantum computing incentives under the CHIPS and Science Act. IBM is expected to receive $1 billion for Anderon, a quantum foundry subsidiary that will produce superconducting wafers in Albany, New York. In November 2025, DARPA selected IBM and 10 other companies for Stage B of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, which aims to determine whether any quantum technology can reach utility-scale operation by 2033.
