A joint venture between Related Midwest and construction firm Clayco’s CRG development arm is set to see IBM as a major anchor for their planned quantum computer campus on Chicago’s south lakefront.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker officially announced the collaboration with IBM to build the National Quantum Algorithm Center to be located at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park being developed by Related and Clayco.
IBM will be joining Palo Alto, California-based PsiQuantum and other companies that have committed to be among the first tenants at the campus. The new quantum innovation site marks the first phase of a larger 400-acre development plan at the site of a former U.S. Steel plant, and Chicago's City Council gave final approval Wednesday for zoning needed to develop the park.
Quantum computing has drawn the attention of economic development professionals as city officials across the United States move to get ahead of what consulting firm McKinsey & Co. estimates could become a $2 trillion industry and create hubs for research into the technology.
Google recently announced development of its newest and most powerful computing chip, Willow. The tech giant said Willow can solve problems in five minutes that would take regular computers billions of years to figure out. Such computing power could transform artificial intelligence and accelerate the development of new drugs.
In Chicago, the quantum computing hub has potential to boost low-income neighborhoods near the site and push the state toward its goal of being a major player in the emerging technology sector.
The new IBM center will initially operate out of Discovery Partners Institute and the University of Chicago, with a modular quantum computer called IBM Quantum System Two located at Hyde Park Labs under construction at 5207 S. Harper Ave. and supported by the University of Chicago.
“IBM’s decision to engage more deeply with our vibrant Illinois quantum ecosystem marks a new phase in the development of quantum information technologies,” Paul Alivisatos, president of the University of Chicago, said in a statement. “The development of new algorithms is the next step to demonstrating effective quantum computations across a wide range of important problems and sectors.”