IBM unveils Quantum Nighthawk r3 processor roadmap

IBM has announced the Quantum Nighthawk r3 processor and a 2027 plan to connect two processors into a single 1,040-qubit system.

• Nighthawk r3 is designed to execute 10,000 quantum operations across 520 programmable qubits with 2,034 total physical qubits, while keeping the square-lattice connectivity and adding 10 l-couplers for chip-to-chip interconnects.
• IBM also highlighted prior progress on Nighthawk r2, including up to 100,000 samples per second, partner workloads from E.ON, Algorithmiq, and Q-CTRL, and modular milestones such as 99.3% quantum state transfer fidelity and a first two-module cryogenic system integration; it also noted a new IBM Quantum Platform co-design effort with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and AMD for quantum error correction.