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IBM Advances to Next Phase of DARPA Quantum Benchmarking Initiative
November 11, 2025 | IBMEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
IBM announced it has been selected for Stage B, the second of three stages of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative led by DARPA, the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
As the independent research and development arm of the U.S. Department of Defense, DARPA’s work focuses on identifying, creating, and supporting transformational, high-reward technologies for national security. In 2024, DARPA launched the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI) to determine the feasibility of building an industrially fault-tolerant quantum computer whose computational value exceeds its cost.
The program is designed to rigorously validate and verify multiple approaches towards delivering such a quantum computer by 2033.
“IBM’s progression to Stage B of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative is a firm validation of IBM’s approach to delivering a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer,” said Jay Gambetta, Director of IBM Research. “IBM has publicly laid out our comprehensive plan and roadmap to scale quantum computers towards fault-tolerance. As the industry advances, we look forward to working with DARPA as they continue an unbiased review of potential viable strategies across the field.”
QBI aims to support the Stage B “performers’” ongoing research and development efforts through third-party verification and validation of their strategy.
As part of the initiative, IBM is also aiming to explore novel approaches to scaling control systems for quantum computers with SEEQC.
Each successful QBI performer will progress through three stages of the program:
- Stage A required an initial technical concept of a cost-effective, fault-tolerant quantum computer that has a plausible path to realization in the near term. Stage A performers were announced in April 2025.
- Announced today, Stage B called for a comprehensive research and development plan capable of realizing such a quantum computer, as well as the risks associated with this plan and mitigation approaches.
- Stage C, according to DARPA, will be when “the QBI independent verification and validation (IV&V) team will test the companies’ computer hardware.”
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