IBM unveils Osprey quantum processor with 433 qubits

IBM has unveiled the Osprey, a quantum processor with more than three times as many qubits as the previous model. The tech uses the quantum state of particles to perform calculations, which should be applied in a modular quantum computer from 2023.

The Osprey shares the same fundamentals as the Eagle quantum processor announced last year, which IBM claims was the first such processor with more than 100 qubits. Meanwhile, the company has more than tripled that by, among other things, separating the wiring from the other parts of the processor. Furthermore, measures have been taken to better insulate this wiring; less heat would now be released, so that the ice-cold quantum computer would be less disrupted and microwave signals would be better able to ‘flow’ through the wiring, so describes IEEE Spectrum.

The development of the quantum processors is a lead-up to the upcoming modular Quantum System Two quantum computer, which should be made available to members of the IBM Quantum Network from 2023. At the moment, however, IBM is still working to scale up the number of qubits for the upcoming Condor by 1121 qubits next year and eventually more than 4000 qubits per quantum system by 2025. Such systems can theoretically perform specific calculations in a manageable time than a conventional supercomputer. would take tens of thousands of years.