Chicago may be taking another quantum leap forward in its technology aspirations.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and IBM announced a renewed research partnership Thursday to advance artificial intelligence and quantum technology, with the city at the center of the ongoing project.
The second phase of the 10-year, $200 million IBM-Illinois Discovery Accelerator Institute will shift toward the state’s growing quantum computing infrastructure and make a second home at the Discovery Partners Institute in Chicago, the university’s urban research hub.
“It shows the commitment and the optimism that IBM has around quantum computing,” said Rashid Bashir, dean of the Grainger College of Engineering at UIUC. “They are certainly pushing forward really hard on that and collaborating with universities, and they’re committing to supporting the governor’s vision of making Chicago the quantum capital of the world.”
The program initially focused primarily on AI and was centered at the school’s downstate campus, which will continue to play a key role in the IBM partnership, Bashir told the Tribune. The University of Illinois oversees the Discovery Partners Institute, a nine-year-old technology research center which just purchased a downtown office building to house its headquarters.
Launched in 2021, the IBM-Illinois Discovery Accelerator Institute has 20 ongoing projects across cloud, AI and quantum computing. The next phase will focus mostly on the development of new algorithms that enable classical and quantum systems to work together to solve complex problems. The plan is to link IBM quantum computers and supercomputers at the University of Illinois in the cloud.
“We are focusing on the future of computing technology overall, and that includes quantum-centric supercomputing, which is a quantum computer and supercomputer in an integrated platform,” Hanhee Paik, IBM’s Chicago-based director for quantum algorithm centers, told the Tribune.
While still in its infancy, quantum technology harnesses subatomic particles to make potentially enormous advances in a wide range of computing applications. The UIUC partnership renewal is the latest commitment by IBM to the Illinois quantum ecosystem.
In December 2024, IBM and the state announced plans to build the National Quantum Algorithm Center at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, a groundbreaking computer research development planned for the former U.S. Steel site on the city’s South Side.
The center will be powered by the IBM Quantum System Two, a modular computer that combines quantum and classical architecture to explore the nearly incalculable advances in technology the new field may bring.
Paik said IBM’s quantum computer will be headed to the University of Chicago this fall, and will move to the IQMP center when the building is completed.
IBM is joining inaugural anchor tenant PsiQuantum, a California-based tech company that announced in 2024 it was investing billions in the new quantum site in a quest to build the world’s first commercially viable quantum computer.
Steel is rising from the ground on the former steel site, with the PsiQuantum building expected to be ready by early 2027. The University of Illinois is erecting two buildings there as well by 2028, Bashir said.
The state committed $500 million for the development of the quantum park, including $200 million for the buildout of a shared cryogenic plant needed to keep the quantum computers cool while operating.
Gov. JB Pritzker heralded the renewed IBM-UIUC partnership as the latest step towards the goal of making Illinois the center of the quantum and AI computing universe.
“I’m pleased to see the IBM-Illinois Discovery Accelerator Institute building on years of progress and partnership with U of I as Illinois innovators pursue critical discoveries in quantum computing and AI,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a news release.
The IBM-Illinois partnership announcement, which took place Thursday morning at DPI’s headquarters in leased space at 200 S. Wacker Drive, also represents a potential boost to Chicago’s sagging office market.
Founded in 2017, DPI was initially slated to build its innovation center on donated land at The 78, a planned megadevelopment on a vacant former rail yard in the South Loop. Last month, the Chicago Fire broke ground on a $750 million soccer stadium at the site. But over the years, as the broader development struggled to get off the ground, DPI pivoted to another plan.
In February, the University of Illinois bought a nearly vacant 16-story office building at 250 S. Wacker Drive for $23.75 million to serve as the new DPI headquarters. It plans to renovate and move into the 244,954-square-foot building, with plenty of room to grow its expanding research operations.
DPI currently leases about 50,000 square feet in the adjacent building at 200 S. Wacker Drive in the West Loop.
As part of the December 2024 announcement to build the National Quantum Algorithm Center at the long-dormant South Works site, IBM committed to invest tens of millions of dollars and hire at least 50 people to develop it.
The National Quantum Algorithm Center is temporarily housed at Hyde Park Labs, a commercial science and tech hub affiliated with the University of Chicago, with plans to move to the quantum park when it is built out. IBM is “making progress” on its hiring goals, Paik said.
Meanwhile, Paik’s IBM team is based at DPI’s headquarters, managing the UIUC partnership and connecting the dots with the computer giant’s quantum ventures across the region.
In addition to buying a new home, Discovery Partners Institute appointed Gene Robinson as the new executive director and CEO in January, with the Grainger College of Engineering now overseeing operations. As the IBM partnership enters its second phase under the DPI roof, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is hoping to make Chicago its second home, while staking new ground on the technological frontier.
“The DPI building will really become our strategic presence in Chicago,” Bashir said.
rchannick@chicagotribune.com
