IBM will invest 45 million euros in quantum computing in France

Forty-five million euros for quantum computing: the American group IBM will develop its research laboratory in France. An investment over several years that he will announce on Monday, May 13, as part of the Choose France summit, a source close to the matter confirmed to AFP on Friday. It will lead to the recruitment of around fifty engineers and researchers by 2025 to expand the missions of the IBM France Lab Paris-Saclay center into quantum, this source said.

Launched in 2019 and dedicated to artificial intelligence, this research and development laboratory will aim to carry out collaborative projects with companies, start-ups, universities and institutes in the field of quantum computing, especially in the areas of training and applied research around this new technology.

The enormous potential of quantum computers

Quantum computers are expected to revolutionize computing, with massive computing power, unlike classical machines. The potential applications are enormous in industry, in artificial intelligence (improving machine learning), in finance, or even in the optimization of energy or transport networks.

The Choose France summit, chaired by Emmanuel Macron, will bring together some 180 foreign bosses at the Palace of Versailles on Monday and will place particular emphasis this year on the topics of decarbonization and artificial and quantum intelligence. Last year, 28 projects were announced during this annual forum, launched in 2018, for a total amount of 13 billion euros.