IBM says it has validated core Starling components

IBM International Business Machines Corporation ↗ 0.11% said on Wednesday, November 11, that it has validated the main hardware and software components it needs for IBM Quantum Starling. Starling is the fault-tolerant quantum computer the company plans to deliver in 2029, designed to run circuits of 100 million quantum operations on 200 qubits. The update came during IBM's Quantum Developer Conference 2026. IBM said work is moving forward in parallel across six areas: device physics, processors, decoders, inter-module links, cryogenics and control electronics.ibm.com+1

Couplers and a simpler chip

IBM said its "c-coupler" technology, which links distant qubits on the same chip, is now validated. Test resonators reached quality factors above 10 million, which beats Starling's target, and passing through extra c-coupler layers caused only a small loss. That allowed IBM to go from two routing layers to three, with plans for four or more.ibm.com

A revised version of IBM's qLDPC error-correction code needs only five connections per qubit instead of six. IBM said it also produces 20 to 100 times fewer logical errors. Together with other coupler changes, this cut the number of Josephson junctions per processor from about 5,000 to 2,000. IBM estimates that raises the share of fully working processors from about 1 in 12 to 1 in 3. The company's Loon test chip currently has median gate errors near 0.3%, while Starling's goal is in the low 0.01% range.ibm.com

Decoding and cryogenic control

IBM said an extended version of its Relay-BP decoder, first introduced in 2025, "already meets the requirements for Starling." The company is building a real-time decoder ASIC on 2-nanometer nanosheet technology to run it. Its newest cryogenic control ASICs, which run inside the refrigerator, now "match and even exceed" the gate performance of room-temperature electronics. IBM researchers had earlier shown cryo-CMOS flux control running on a 156-qubit Heron processor.research.ibm.com+1

Linking modules

IBM connected two Nighthawk processors with four long-range "l-couplers," reaching 99% average state-transfer fidelity and a best result of 99.3%. Starling will eventually need more than 100 l-couplers per module, each with error rates of 0.1%. IBM also linked two of its new box-shaped cryogenic modules for the first time. They cooled below 15 millikelvin after reaching operating temperature in under five days. Starling will need up to 12 such modules.ibm.com+2

Outside reviewers are now involved too. In October, DARPA moved IBM into Stage C of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, where independent experts will test whether the company can build a fault-tolerant machine. IBM executive Oliver Dial said the progress shows "we are well advanced on our path to building Starling". In its blog post, IBM said that "Starling is still a few years away".ibm.com+2