IBM's CEO just put an actual date on when quantum computing starts making the company real money

[RightNutter82]

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told CNBC's Mad Money that quantum computing should have a measurable impact on IBM's top and bottom line by 2028 or 2029, and went further to say the company is now pretty convinced the whole field represents a trillion dollars of value by the end of the 2030s, which is about as concrete a timeline as any major tech executive has put on quantum computing's actual commercial payoff so far

The comments landed the same day IBM and Algorithmiq announced their quantum advantage demonstration, and Krishna specifically pointed to that research as evidence the technology is closer to real world use than skeptics assume, saying IBM's quantum computer uncovered material behaviors researchers simply couldn't observe using conventional computing methods, with potential applications in better batteries, more advanced materials, improved fusion energy, and smarter drug design

Krishna was directly addressing investor nerves too, IBM stock had a rough single day drop of around 25 percent back on July 14 after customers reportedly delayed some projects, and he pushed back on that being a sign of trouble, saying roughly 40 percent of those delayed deals had already closed within three to four weeks, framing the whole thing as deferred demand rather than lost demand

This timeline places IBM as notably more bullish on near term quantum commercialization than several other major players in the field, and the company has been backing that confidence with real infrastructure investment too, including a standalone quantum chip foundry announced back in May with a billion dollar commitment involving the US Department of Energy

What makes this specific claim worth actually tracking rather than dismissing as standard executive optimism is that Krishna tied it to a testable timeline rather than a vague someday, 2028 or 2029 is a concrete enough date that we'll actually know within a few years whether this specific prediction held up or turned into just another overpromised quantum computing timeline

IBM CEO says quantum computing will have a 'measurable impact' on earnings by 2028 or 2029www.cnbc.com