Technology giant IBM (IBM) has received $1 billion U.S. from America’s federal government to build the country’s first quantum microchip foundry.
Anderon, an IBM subsidiary, has been given a $1 billion U.S. research-and-development (R&D) grant by the U.S. Commerce Department to build the quantum chip foundry.
IBM has pledged $1 billion U.S. of its own money to support Anderon, which is a newly formed company that will operate as a subsidiary after the chip foundry is operational.
The R&D grant is part of a push by the U.S. government to onshore microchip manufacturing and advance technologies related to quantum computing and artificial intelligence (A.I.).
In all, IBM and its subsidiaries are expected to receive $2 billion U.S. in funding from the U.S. government for the advancement of quantum computing.
Quantum computing uses physics to solve complex problems much faster than today’s supercomputers.
While currently in its infancy, quantum computing is expected to advance rapidly in coming years and lead to scientific and medical breakthroughs.
The new quantum microchip foundry will be located in upstate New York near IBM’s global headquarters. It will be a state-of-the-art 300-millimeter wafer foundry.
Once operational, the chip foundry will count IBM and several other private sector companies as customers.
IBM is viewed as a global leader in the development of quantum computing. Mukesh Kare, the general manager of IBM’s semiconductor unit, has been appointed CEO of Anderon.
The stock of IBM has declined 4% over the last 12 months to trade at $248.37 U.S. per share.
Tech Insider
