Overview
- IBM activated the IBM Quantum System Two on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, at Hyde Park Labs and began running a 120-qubit Nighthawk r2 processor at the University of Chicago‑affiliated site.
- The machine is being hosted temporarily at Hyde Park Labs and will move to the under‑construction Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park in South Chicago when that campus opens.
- The System Two installation will anchor the National Quantum Algorithm Center and already supports partnerships with universities and firms working on drug discovery, power‑grid optimization and high‑energy physics.
- The deployment is tied to an economic deal that links IBM’s FutureNow Chicago hiring targets to roughly $19 million in state tax credits and the company has reported about 250 of 750 planned jobs filled so far.
- Technical work is advancing alongside local negotiations: researchers reported a July demonstration described as a ‘quantum advantage,’ IBM announced an error‑correction platform on Nov. 5, and South Side groups are pressing for binding community benefits amid concerns about environmental and gentrification impacts.