On Monday, International Business Machines (IBM.N) announced that it had created a new quantum computing chip that its executives believe will allow quantum systems to begin outperforming classical computers at some tasks within the next two years.
IBM said that its "Eagle" computing chip has 127 so-called "qubits," representing information in the quantum form. Classical computers work using "bits" that must be either a 1 or 0, but qubits can be both a one and a 0 simultaneously.
This fact may one day make quantum computers much faster than their classical counterparts, but qubits are extremely difficult to build and require massive cryogenic refrigerators to function properly. While Apple Inc.'s (AAPL.O) latest M1 Max chip has 57 billion transistors - a rough proxy for bits - IBM claims its new Eagle chip is the first to have more than 100 qubits.
However, IBM stated that when combined with other advances in the quantum computer's refrigeration jobs and control systems, new techniques learned while building the chip, which is manufactured at its facilities in New York state, will eventually produce more qubits. The company announced Monday that an "Osprey" chip with 433 qubits and a "Condor" chip with 1,121 qubits will be available in 2022.