By Dorene Billings
Publication Date: 2025-11-23 10:41:00
IBM Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. are charting a bold course to entangle quantum computers across vast distances, aiming to deliver a proof-of-concept by the end of the decade that could birth a quantum internet. Announced on Nov. 20, 2025, the partnership merges IBM’s prowess in scalable quantum processors with Cisco’s networking expertise, targeting a networked quantum ecosystem by the early 2030s. This move addresses a core bottleneck in quantum computing: isolation.
Quantum computers excel at tackling intractable problems in chemistry, materials science, and cryptography, but their fragility demands cryogenic isolation. Linking them requires preserving qubit coherence over fiber-optic cables, a feat demanding novel transducers to convert microwave signals to optical photons. IBM and Cisco plan to demonstrate entanglement between cryogenically separated processors within five years, as stated in their joint press release.
The ambition extends to a ‘quantum…