IBM (New York Stock Exchange ticker: IBM) announced on Wednesday that the company has been selected for Phase C of the Quantum Benchmarking Program ( QBI ), which is led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA ) of the United States. This represents the third phase of the program.

IBM indicates that this phase will propel the company into the verification process of DARPA. Independent experts will conduct extensive testing and measurements on quantum hardware, technology, systems engineering, and architecture to determine whether a company is capable of building fault-tolerant quantum computers.

The director of the research department, IBM, stated: "Entering the third phase of the DARPA Quantum Benchmark Program proves the strength of IBM in the path towards building fault-tolerant quantum computers. IBM expects to deliver the first fault-tolerant system in 2029, and we plan to continue to significantly enhance the value of quantum computing beyond this timeline. We look forward to collaborating with the expert team from DARPA as they advance the review of fault-tolerant quantum computing methods to the testing stage."

As an independent research and development institution under the U.S. Department of Defense, DARPA launched QBI in 2024 with the goal of determining by 2033 whether it is possible to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer with industrial practical value. This program defines such systems as those whose computational value exceeds their cost. IBM indicates that the company has successfully passed the evaluation process of QBI, which includes the first two stages: analyzing the comprehensive research and development plan as well as risk mitigation strategies.

According to IBM, the company has established the strongest quantum foundation in the industry, relying on the world's largest quantum computer cluster as well as Qiskit – the most popular quantum software globally. The quantum computers from IBM are currently being used by over 340 organizations as scientific tools. These organizations come from financial services, healthcare, materials science, academia, and government departments, and they are developing industrial applications and exploring algorithms to unleash the full potential of fault-tolerant quantum computing.

IBM announced last year plans to deliver the world's first fault-tolerant quantum computer, IBM Quantum Starling. The company stated that Starling would incorporate advancements in error correction, processor design, systems engineering, and other areas. Since then, the progress of IBM has continued as planned, including demonstrating the core hardware components required for fault tolerance and making breakthroughs in efficient error-correction decoding.

Entering Phase C

As of now, every successful participant in QBI has completed all three stages of this program:

• Phase A requires institutions to submit a preliminary technical concept for a low-cost, fault-tolerant quantum computer, which should have a reasonable path to implementation in the near term. Several participants in Phase A announced their concepts in April 2025.
• Phase B requires each company to submit a comprehensive R&D plan that details how to implement such quantum computers, as well as the risks associated with the plan and methods to mitigate them.
• The selected candidates announced today will move beyond conceptual proposals and enter the evaluation phase where the DARPA QBI Independent Verification and Confirmation (IV &V) team will test the company's hardware.

IBM indicates that in addition to participating in QBI, the company continues to collaborate with partners from the industry, government, and academia to accelerate the timeline for achieving fault-tolerant quantum computing.

For more information about the Quantum Benchmarking Program, please visit the DARPA website.

About IBM

IBM is a globally leading provider of hybrid cloud, artificial intelligence, and business services, helping customers in over 175 countries and regions to leverage data insights, streamline business processes, reduce costs, and gain a competitive advantage in their respective industries. Thousands of government agencies and enterprise clients in critical infrastructure sectors, including the financial services, telecommunications, and healthcare industries, rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to drive digital transformation quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions, and business services offer customers open and flexible options. All of this is built upon IBM's long-term commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusiveness, and service.

For more information, please visit: https :// research.ibm.com.

Media contact:

Erin Angelini

Chris Nay