Quantum computers are considered the next big step forward in computing. The technology uses quantum physics to speed up calculations. Hell, quantum physics could allow us to send messages through time. The only problem is how to build a commercial device capable of harnessing the power of quantum physics. IBM believes it has a solution, provided it has the time and money to finance the process.
Recently, IBM filed an application with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission regarding its quantum computing research plans. According to the document, IBM plans to invest more than $10 billion to commercialize quantum computing. This money will be spent on research and development, capital expenditures, ecosystem partnerships, scalable manufacturing and potential mergers and acquisitions.
According to IBM’s projections, development will take five years and the company is confident it can create the world’s first “large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer” by 2029. Technically speaking, this wouldn’t be IBM’s first quantum rodeo, as the company claims to have “deployed more than 90 quantum systems” to date. Additionally, IBM has developed relationships with more than 300 companies, universities and government agencies, all of which use IBM’s existing quantum computers. The only question is who will get their hands on IBM’s first large-scale commercial quantum computer when it’s ready for testing.
IBM plans to increase research with manufacturing plant
On the one hand, IBM’s projects are remarkable in themselves. After all, advances in quantum computing could affect their cost, and we could all use cheaper PCs now that AI data centers have driven up the price of many gadgets. But the timing of IBM’s announcement makes it a potential double.
In May 2026, the National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded IBM $1 billion in CHIPS incentives. The purpose of this donation was to help the company build its own quantum chip foundry on American soil, as well as to finance the research and development that accompanies such a project. This factory and its associated functions will fall under a new IBM subsidiary called Anderon. It’s also worth mentioning that IBM plans to use $1 billion from its own pocket to help fund Anderon.
Although Anderon and its associated costs are separate from quantum computing research and its investments, the projects remain inextricably linked, as IBM believes both are necessary to help the company provide “secure quantum manufacturing capability in the United States” and “drive U.S. economic growth while strengthening national security.” Although IBM won’t have a working quantum computer until 2029, the company estimates its quantum chip research and factory will reach a net worth of $850 billion by 2040.
