IBM commits $15bn to quantum computing and cybersecurity in massive five-year investment plan

IBM to spend $10bn on quantum over five years

The investment decision follows last week's agreement between IBM and the US department of commerce to build an American quantum chip foundry named Anderon. Computing giant IBM is to invest more than $10bn in the quantum field over the next five years, according to a US government securities filing by the company. IBM's goal is "to advance our leadership position in quantum" - including in research and development, capital expenditure, ecosystem partnerships, manufacturing scaling, and mergers and acquisitions - towards delivering "the first large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029", it said in the submission. The investment decision follows last week's agreement between IBM and the US department of commerce to build an American quantum chip foundry named Anderon as one part of a $2bn government strategy to accelerate American quantum innovation. IBM said it has already deployed more than 90 quantum systems to date in partnership with 325 companies, start-ups, universities and government agencies to "tackle scientific challenges across chemistry, biology, materials science and more". Under its quantum deal with the US government, IBM will use a $1bn legislative award to launch Anderon, a standalone company that IBM said will be the first pure-play US quantum chip foundry. It will be headquartered in Albany, New York and operate as a 300mm quantum wafer foundry serving multiple quantum hardware vendors. IBM will match the government's contribution with $1bn of its own cash, along with significant intellectual property, assets and its skilled workforce, with additional investors expected as Anderon grows. "These strategic quantum technology investments will build on our domestic industry, creating thousands of high-paying American jobs while advancing American quantum capabilities," said US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick last week of the overall strategy that aims to benefit two domestic quantum foundries and seven quantum computing companies in the country. Separately, IBM said it will also invest a share of $5bn in 'Project Lightwell', a "commitment backed by new frontier AI capabilities and a global force of more than 20,000 engineers to help enterprises secure open source software". Alongside cloud tech company Red Hat, IBM aims to "establish a trusted enterprise clearinghouse combined with a global force of engineers to identify and fix vulnerabilities at scale". "Open source is the backbone of today's digital economy and the foundation of modern AI, and we are at an inflection point in how it is built, secured and scaled," said Arvind Krishna, the chair and CEO of IBM. "With Project Lightwell, IBM and Red Hat are helping define a new industry model, one that brings together AI, engineering expertise, and trusted collaboration to secure open source software at its source and across the entire supply chain." Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

IBM Is Chasing A '$1 Trillion Value Creation Engine' -- And It's Spending $10 Billion To Get There - IBM (

While much of Wall Street remains focused on artificial intelligence, IBM Corp (NYSE:IBM) is placing a massive bet on what could come next. * What's going on with IBM stock? The company announced a $10 billion commitment over the next five years to accelerate its quantum computing ambitions, a move that Wedbush analyst Dan Ives believes could help position IBM at the center of what he calls a "$1 trillion value creation engine." The investment comes on top of a separate $5 billion initiative, Project LIghtwell, aimed at securing open-source software, bringing IBM's total commitment across quantum computing and cybersecurity to $15 billion. IBM Doubles Down On Quantum IBM's latest investment is designed to strengthen its leadership in quantum computing through research and development, manufacturing expansion, ecosystem partnerships, acquisitions and infrastructure buildouts. The announcement follows recent support from the U.S. government, which committed funding to accelerate domestic quantum development, including support for an American quantum chip foundry. IBM has already built more than 90 quantum systems and maintains relationships with a significant portion of Fortune 500 companies, universities, startups and government agencies pursuing quantum applications. According to Ives, IBM sees itself as more than a quantum hardware company. The firm's strategy is to become the infrastructure layer that powers future quantum applications, much like cloud providers became the foundation of the modern software economy. The AI And Quantum Connection The timing of the investment is notable. At IBM Think earlier this month, management highlighted what it sees as the growing intersection between artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The company believes "quantum advantage" -- the point where quantum systems can outperform traditional computers on meaningful tasks -- could arrive sooner than many investors expect. While AI remains the dominant technology theme today, IBM appears to be positioning itself for the next computing wave rather than simply competing in the current one. That approach stood out to Wedbush. "We believe IBM's positioning at the forefront of AI and quantum remains underappreciated," Ives wrote. Protecting The AI Revolution IBM's spending spree isn't limited to quantum; the company and Red Hat, a software company, unveiled Project Lightwell. The project aims to help enterprises identify vulnerabilities, deploy validated patches and secure software dependencies that increasingly underpin both enterprise applications and AI systems. The timing is hardly accidental. As concerns grow about increasingly powerful AI models exposing security weaknesses, enterprises are becoming more focused on protecting the software infrastructure that supports AI deployments. Wedbush described the move as a smart effort to help customers defend both existing environments and future AI systems against emerging threats. Betting On The Next Technology Race For investors, IBM's announcements signal a company looking beyond the current AI boom. The AI trade has created some of the market's biggest winners over the past several years. IBM is now trying to ensure it has a meaningful seat at the table for the next major technology shift as well. Whether that shift arrives in five years or 10, the company is making one thing clear. It intends to spend heavily to make sure it's ready when it does. Image via Shutterstock This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.