IBM has announced a new superconducting quantum processor that brings the company to the 1,000-qubit mark, a milestone in the race to build more capable quantum computers. The firm said the chip also achieved gate fidelity above 99.9%, a performance level that could help reduce errors that have long limited practical quantum computing.

The latest processor adds to IBM’s efforts to improve both scale and reliability, two of the biggest challenges in the field. Higher qubit counts can expand computational potential, while stronger fidelity is critical for error correction and stable operation.

Researchers and companies across the sector are competing to turn quantum hardware into a useful tool for materials science, optimization, and advanced simulation. IBM’s announcement suggests steady progress, though major technical hurdles remain before quantum systems can outperform conventional computers on a wide range of real-world tasks.

The company framed the new chip as another step toward fault-tolerant quantum computing, a long-sought goal in the industry. Even so, experts generally caution that breakthroughs in qubit count do not automatically translate into broad commercial utility without further gains in control, error suppression, and system design.