IBM and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have set up a joint laboratory to explore AI and quantum computing.

The MIT-IBM Computing Research Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, builds on a history of scientific excellence at the intersection of research and academia. Evolving from the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, which originated in 2017 on MIT’s campus, the new lab reflects a transformed technology landscape, one in which AI has entered mainstream deployment, and quantum computing is rapidly advancing towards practical impact.

MIT and IBM hope the lab will serve as a focal point for joint research in AI, algorithms and quantum computing, as well as the integration of these technologies into hybrid computing systems. The lab is designed to accelerate progress towards powerful new computational approaches that take advantage of rapid advances in AI and quantum-centric supercomputing, including those that combine maturing quantum hardware with classical systems and AI methods.

This research initiative will include improving capabilities and integrating AI with traditional computing, alongside pursuing advances in small, efficient, modular language model architectures, novel AI computing paradigms and enterprise-focused AI systems designed for deployment in real-world environments.

In parallel, the lab will rethink the mathematical and algorithmic foundations that underpin the next era of computing by accelerating the development of novel quantum algorithms for complex problems, with impacts in areas such as materials science, chemistry and biology. Additionally, it will investigate mathematical and algorithmic foundations of machine learning, optimisation, Hamiltonian simulations and partial differential equations, which are used to approximate the behaviour of dynamical systems that currently stump classical systems’ scale and accuracy.

Innovations from the lab could have wide implications for global industries, from more accurate weather and air turbulence prediction to better forecasts of financial market performance. Similarly, with improved optimisation approaches, research from the lab could help lower risks in areas such as finance, predict protein structures for more targeted medicine and streamline global supply chains.

As part of its roadmap, IBM has laid out a path to delivering the world’s first fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029, and is working across industries to drive value from quantum-centric supercomputing, tightly integrating quantum computers with high-performance computing and AI accelerators.

The lab will train computational scientists and innovators. It will aim to do so by engaging faculty and students across MIT departments, enabling computational approaches to accelerate discoveries in the physical and life sciences.

Visit computing.mit.edu and research.ibm.com for more information.