You can play with IBM's quantum processor for free


IBM's 5-qubit quantum processor is accessible to the public via the cloud

Today's Best Tech Deals

Picked by PCWorld's Editors

Top Deals On Great Products

Picked by Techconnect's Editors

A quantum computer for the people isn’t just a theoretical dream; IBM is trying to make it a reality.

IBM has built a quantum processor with five qubits, or quantum bits. Even better, IBM isn’t hiding the quantum processor in its labs—it will be accessible through the cloud for the public to run experiments and test applications.


IBM’s qubit processor is significant because it’ll be the first quantum hardware accessible to the public, even if only through the cloud. Users will be able to work with qubits, study tutorials, and run simulations, Gambetta said. 

A quantum computer is already available from D-Wave, but it is being used by just a handful of organizations like Google, Lockheed Martin, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. D-Wave’s system, based on quantum annealing, is ideal for specific tasks while IBM’s quantum hardware is designed to run more varied tasks. 

Access to the 5-qubit processor will be available soon, though Gambetta couldn’t provide further details. It’s possible that access will be provided for free, he said. Researchers and academics may be the first people to use the processor.

Quantum computers would be significantly faster than today’s PCs and servers and will bring radical changes to the way computers are built. Quantum computing would be a way to advance computing even as smaller and more power-efficient chips become more challenging to make.


Two years ago, the company committed $3 billion to rethink conventional computer designs, with research centered around quantum computing and brain-inspired chips like its experimental TrueNorth processor.



IBM’s quantum processor is hosted in a special “cryogenic dilution refrigerator,” an advanced cooling technique is central to keeping quantum hardware operational. IBM said the processor is stable and reliable thanks to research and engineering advances.

Quantum computers provide a radically different computational path than today’s PCs. At the center are qubits, which allows the systems to perform significantly more complex calculations than is possible with today’s fastest supercomputer.


But quantum computers can be notoriously unstable, which is why they have been so elusive. Qubits can be fragile, and their behavior or state could be hard to predict once they start interacting, or “entangling,” in a calculation. The state of qubits could be easily upset by heat or electromagnetic radiation, which can wreck computational cycles. That could make a quantum computer unreliable for tasks like genome sequencing, which need reliable performance over a sustained period of time.



Not all programs will execute properly. Users could see errors if qubits go out of control, but that’s an important part of learning how to use quantum computers, Gambetta said.

A 5-qubit processor is good for simple scientific programs, but don’t expect to run regular applications like Microsoft Word.





“I don’t know where quantum computing will end up. We’re defining a path,” Gambetta said.

Shop Tech Products at Amazon