Today IBM and the US Department of Commerce (DoC) announced a Letter of Intent (LOI) to build an American quantum chip, foundry “securing the nation’s global quantum leadership and fueling the country’s growing quantum ecosystem” according to a statement from IBM. The CHIPS incentive from the DoC will support the research and development efforts of a new IBM company: Anderon, which will be America’s first pure-play quantum foundry.
In addition to the $1 billion in CHIPS incentives provided by the DoC, IBM will contribute $1 billion of cash into Anderon, along with IBM investing significant intellectual property, assets, and a skilled workforce, with additional investors expected as Anderon grows. Headquartered in Albany, New York as a standalone company, Anderon will operate as a state-of-the-art 300-millimeter quantum wafer foundry.
As a pure-play quantum foundry, Anderon plans to tap IBM’s strength in building and deploying quantum computers to offer wafer fabrication for multiple quantum technology vendors across the world.
“With today’s CHIPS Research and Development investments in quantum computing, the Trump administration is leading the world into a new era of American innovation,” said Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. “These strategic quantum technology investments will build on our domestic industry, creating thousands of high-paying American jobs while advancing American quantum capabilities.”
“The Department of Commerce’s incentives strengthen and accelerate U.S. quantum leadership and technological resilience,” said Bill Frauenhofer, Executive Director of Semiconductor Investment and Innovation. “Quantum computing has significant implications for national defense, advanced materials and biopharmaceutical discovery, financial modeling and energy systems.”
“IBM has pioneered quantum computing for decades. Our work in silicon wafer fabrication has been a key to IBM’s success and will be critical to enable a broader quantum technology landscape that will reshape global innovation and economic competitiveness,” said Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO of IBM. “With the support of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Anderon will be well-positioned to fuel America’s fast-growing quantum technology industry.”
IBM plans to use its expertise in fabrication tools and specialized talent to help Anderon build a secure, U.S. based supply of quantum wafers for multiple hardware vendors. Anderon will first support wafer fabrication for superconducting qubit and supporting electronics wafers, with the goal to expand into other quantum modalities.
From the start, Anderon will be prepared to serve as the anchor for a national ecosystem for quantum wafer manufacturing, ensuring IBM and other quantum companies have the ability to catalyze the production of scalable quantum technologies within the United States.
Anderon’s forthcoming leading-edge 300mm wafer processes “expect to offer the most advanced quantum wafer technologies”, including superconducting wiring, through-silicon vias and bumps, and is backed by established production capabilities such as dedicated process design kits, in-line wafer testing and characterization, and established baseline routes that enable rapid iteration and reliable scalability.
