IBM and Cisco are not just building another research partnership, they are sketching the blueprint for a global fabric that could let quantum computers talk to each other as easily as laptops do today. Their new pact aims to connect large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum systems into a shared network, effectively seeding the first version of a quantum computing internet that can be scaled, managed, and secured like critical infrastructure rather than a lab experiment.
If the companies deliver on that vision, the impact will reach far beyond physics departments and cloud data centers, reshaping how industries approach problems that overwhelm even the fastest classical supercomputers. I see this as a turning point where quantum hardware, networking gear, and control software begin to converge into a single stack, with IBM and Cisco betting that they can define the standards and architectures others will have to follow.
The pact that reframes quantum as a networked utility
The core of the agreement is straightforward but ambitious: IBM and Cisco want to link fault-tolerant quantum computers into a distributed network that behaves like one massive machine. Instead of treating each quantum processor as an isolated island, the collaboration is designed to create a fabric where multiple systems can share workloads, synchronize operations, and route jobs to whichever node is best suited to a given algorithm. In practical terms, that means moving from one-off quantum prototypes to an architecture that looks more like a utility grid, with capacity pooled and orchestrated across locations.
Both companies describe this as laying the foundations for a quantum computing internet, with the explicit goal of connecting large-scale systems that can execute trillions of quantum operations with sub-nanosecond precision. IBM brings its roadmap for fault-tolerant processors and control stacks, while Cisco contributes deep expertise in networking, routing, and secure infrastructure to build a distributed quantum computing network that can actually be deployed and managed at scale, a vision detailed in their plan to lay the foundations for distributed quantum computing.
Inside the plan to build a network of large-scale, fault-tolerant machines
At the heart of the collaboration is a commitment to build a Network of Large-Scale, Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computers, a phrase that signals how far IBM and Cisco expect the technology to mature. Instead of focusing on today’s noisy intermediate-scale devices, the companies are explicitly targeting systems that can correct their own errors and run long, complex circuits without collapsing. The network is meant to unite these large-scale machines so they can be addressed as a shared resource, rather than as isolated clusters of qubits locked inside individual labs or cloud regions.
The partners frame this as a step toward a full quantum computing internet, where organizations can access fault-tolerant capacity over secure links and orchestrate jobs across multiple sites. Cisco emphasizes that the collaboration plans to unite large-scale systems and move steadily towards that quantum computing internet, while IBM stresses that the network is being designed from the outset for fault tolerance and scalability. The joint announcement describes how the companies will build a Network of Large-Scale systems that can be interconnected and managed as a coherent platform.
IBM’s quantum networking unit and the new interface layer
For IBM, the pact is not just about plugging existing machines into someone else’s routers, it is about creating a new layer in the stack that can translate between quantum hardware and classical networks. As part of the collaborative effort, IBM intends to develop a quantum networking unit, or QNU, that will serve as the interface between its fault-tolerant processors and the broader distributed network. I see the QNU as the quantum-era equivalent of a network interface card, but with far more complex timing, synchronization, and error-correction responsibilities than any Ethernet adapter.
The QNU is expected to manage how a given quantum algorithm or application is partitioned, routed, and synchronized across multiple machines, so that the network behaves like a single logical computer rather than a loose federation of nodes. IBM positions this unit as a critical bridge that will let developers treat the network as one addressable resource, while Cisco’s infrastructure handles the underlying transport and security. The plan to create this dedicated interface layer is spelled out in IBM’s description of how the QNU will serve as the interface for any given quantum algorithm or application.
Targeting trillions of operations with sub-nanosecond precision
One of the most striking aspects of the IBM and Cisco roadmap is the performance envelope they are willing to put in writing. The companies say they are targeting an architecture that can support trillions of quantum operations, a scale that would push well beyond today’s experimental demonstrations and into territory where real-world optimization, chemistry, and cryptography problems become tractable. That figure is not marketing fluff, it reflects the level of fault tolerance and error correction required to keep large circuits coherent long enough to deliver useful answers.
To make that possible, the network will need timing and synchronization that operate with sub-nanosecond precision across distributed systems, a requirement that plays directly to Cisco’s strengths in high-performance networking and timing-sensitive infrastructure. IBM and Cisco describe how they are designing the network so that operations can be coordinated with that level of precision, ensuring that entanglement, gate sequences, and error-correction cycles line up across machines. Their joint statement notes that the companies are targeting an environment where trillions of quantum operations can be executed with sub-nanosecond precision.
Cisco’s role: from routers to quantum-ready infrastructure
Cisco’s involvement signals that quantum networking is moving out of the physics lab and into the domain of industrial-grade infrastructure. The company is not building qubits, it is building the highways, switches, and security layers that will let those qubits communicate reliably across data centers and, eventually, across continents. In this collaboration, Cisco is expected to design and deploy the quantum-aware networking hardware and software that can carry entangled states, manage ultra-low-latency links, and integrate quantum traffic into existing enterprise and cloud environments without compromising performance or security.
The partnership describes Cisco as a co-architect of the quantum computing internet, responsible for the connective tissue that links fault-tolerant machines into a coherent whole. That includes not only physical networking gear but also the orchestration and management tools that will let operators monitor, configure, and secure quantum links alongside classical ones. The companies frame this as a joint effort in which IBM and Cisco are developing quantum hardware, networking, and the intelligence that makes them work, a role captured in their decision to launch a joint effort to link fault-tolerant quantum computers.
From isolated prototypes to a true quantum computing internet
What IBM and Cisco are proposing marks a shift from treating quantum computers as standalone curiosities to viewing them as nodes in a larger, programmable fabric. Up to now, most organizations have accessed quantum hardware through cloud-based APIs that connect to a single device or a small cluster, with limited ability to coordinate jobs across multiple machines. The new pact envisions a future where those machines are inherently networked, so that a single workload can be distributed, entangled, and recombined across several fault-tolerant systems, much like how modern microservices spread across fleets of servers.
In that sense, the collaboration is less about building one flagship quantum computer and more about defining the protocols, interfaces, and control layers that will let many such systems operate together. The companies explicitly describe their goal as moving towards a quantum computing internet, where large-scale, fault-tolerant machines are united into a network that can be addressed as a single resource. By committing to a Network of Large-Scale, Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computers and the supporting distributed quantum computing network, IBM and Cisco are effectively declaring that the next phase of quantum progress will be measured not only in qubits, but in how well those qubits can be shared and orchestrated across distance.
Why the IBM–Cisco alignment matters for industry and research
For enterprises and research institutions, the IBM and Cisco pact offers a glimpse of how quantum capabilities might eventually be consumed: not as a bespoke experiment, but as a networked service integrated into existing IT workflows. A pharmaceutical company, for example, could submit a complex molecular simulation that is automatically partitioned across multiple fault-tolerant nodes, while a logistics firm might run large optimization problems that tap into the same distributed fabric. The presence of Cisco, a company deeply embedded in corporate and carrier networks, makes it easier to imagine quantum capacity being exposed through familiar channels, from VPNs and private links to cloud interconnects.
Academic and government labs stand to benefit as well, since a quantum computing internet would let them share scarce fault-tolerant resources without physically relocating hardware or teams. Instead of each institution trying to build its own isolated machine, they could tap into a shared network where capacity is allocated based on project needs and priorities. By defining a Network of Large-Scale, Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computers and a quantum networking unit that can interface with any given quantum algorithm or application, IBM and Cisco are laying the groundwork for a model where quantum power is pooled, scheduled, and governed much like high performance computing clusters are today.
The strategic bet: setting standards before the market explodes
Strategically, IBM and Cisco are making a bet that whoever defines the early architecture of quantum networking will wield outsized influence as the market matures. By specifying how fault-tolerant machines connect, how operations are synchronized, and how workloads are routed through a distributed quantum computing network, they are effectively writing the first draft of the standards that others may be forced to adopt. That is a familiar playbook from the early days of the classical internet, when a handful of companies and research groups shaped the protocols that still underpin global connectivity.
If the collaboration succeeds, IBM could cement its position as the leading provider of fault-tolerant quantum hardware and control stacks, while Cisco becomes the default choice for quantum-ready networking infrastructure. The explicit focus on a Network of Large-Scale, Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computers, a quantum networking unit interface, and a roadmap to trillions of operations with sub-nanosecond precision signals that both companies see this as more than a research project. They are positioning themselves as the architects of a quantum computing internet that others will plug into, rather than as vendors competing for isolated hardware deals.
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