Latest Quantum Computer Chips in 2025

Last Updated on May 25, 2025 by Max

Quantum computer chips, also known as quantum processing units (QPUs), form the heart of today’s nascent quantum computers. Unlike classical processors that use bits (0 or 1), QPUs employ qubits, which can exist in superpositions of 0 and 1, enabling radically different and potentially far more powerful computations.

Over the past year, several leading research labs and startups have announced or released new quantum chips, each pushing the boundaries of qubit count, coherence, and gate fidelity.

This article surveys the major gate-based and annealing-based chips available as of May 2025, outlining their specifications, core technologies, applications, development status, challenges, and future prospects.

Major Gate-Based Quantum Chips

Google’s Willow Processor

• Qubit count: 105 superconducting qubits [1].
• Key features: Implements novel error-correction schemes that reduce error rates as qubit count scales, achieving below-threshold operation; demonstrated a Random Circuit Sampling (RCS) benchmark task in five minutes—a calculation impossible for classical supercomputers over the age of the universe [2].
• Fabrication: Produced in Google’s dedicated Santa Barbara facility using advanced participation-ratio engineering and optimized fabrication processes [3].
• Applications: Benchmarking quantum supremacy, preliminary error-corrected algorithms; future scaling aims toward practical chemistry and materials simulations.

IBM’s Multichip Systems

• Quantum System Two (156-qubit chip): Integrates a 156-qubit processor, achieving logical operations up to 50× faster than its predecessor [4].
• Condor (1,121 qubits): Uses advanced 3D packaging to maintain coherence across over a thousand qubits, with ongoing error-mitigation research [5].
• Kookaburra (1,386-qubit multichip): Announced for 2025, featuring quantum communication links between chips for scalable systems [6].
• Technology: Superconducting transmons, 3D integration, dilution refrigeration to ~10 mK, low-latency classical controllers.
• Applications: Cloud-accessible quantum advantage algorithms, early studies of quantum error correction, materials, and chemical simulations.

Rigetti’s Aspen-M Series

• Aspen-M-3 (80 qubits): Features a tileable, tunable-coupler architecture for scalable coupling; single- and two-qubit gate fidelities up to 99.9% and 98.5%, respectively [7].

• Technology: Lithographically defined superconducting qubits (3–6 GHz range) with fast gate times (tens of nanoseconds) and on-chip cryogenic control wiring.

• Status: Available via Amazon Braket and Rigetti’s cloud, with on-premises Novera (9-qubit) systems for enterprise R&D.

Alternative Qubit Modalities

Trapped-Ion: IonQ Forte

• Qubit count: 36 ytterbium-ion qubits (all-to-all connectivity) [8].
• Benchmark: Achieves an algorithmic qubit metric of 36, indicating strong multi-qubit performance.
• Technology: Laser-cooled ions in segmented traps, ultra-stable lasers for qubit control, room-temperature vacuum chambers.
• Applications: High-fidelity gates are ideal for error-corrected circuits and quantum networking experiments.

Trapped-Ion: Quantinuum H2

• Qubit count: 56 qubits in a racetrack, all-to-all topology [9].
• Gate fidelity: Single-qubit 99.997%, two-qubit 99.87%.
• Technology: Integrated photonic routing for lasers, cryogenic and room-temperature hybrid vacuum system.
• Applications: Quantum chemistry simulations, early quantum error-correction codes.

Photonic: PsiQuantum Omega

• Approach: Uses silicon photonic waveguides and deterministic photon sources; aims ultimately for millions of photonic qubits [10].
• Status: Omega chipset announced Feb 2025; manufactured at GlobalFoundries in New York.
• Applications: Low-loss quantum communication, boson sampling, potential for room-temperature operation.

Neutral-Atom: M Squared Maxwell

• Qubit count: 200 neutral atoms trapped in optical lattices [11].
• Gate fidelity: Multi-atom gates >99%.
• Technology: Optical tweezers, Rydberg interactions, vacuum-ultracold atom systems.
• Applications: Programmable analog quantum simulation, quantum optimization.

Quantum Annealing: D-Wave Advantage 2

• Qubit count: 4,400 superconducting flux qubits [12].
• Use case: Optimizing combinatorial problems via quantum annealing rather than gate sequences.
• Applications: Logistics optimization, machine learning pre-training, and financial portfolio optimization.

Real-World Applications & Development Status

• Cloud platforms: IBM Quantum Experience, Google Quantum AI, IonQ and Quantinuum cloud services, Rigetti Forest—all provide remote access to quantum chips for research and early development.
• Enterprise R&D: On-premises systems (IonQ Forte Enterprise, Rigetti Novera) enable secure, private experimentation.
• Research milestones: Demonstrations of quantum-supremacy tasks, component-level benchmarking, and initial error-corrected logic.

Challenges & Future Prospects

• Error rates & coherence: Extending coherence times beyond 100 μs while maintaining gate fidelity >99.9% remains critical.
• Scaling & integration: Modular multichip architectures and photonic interconnects offer paths to millions of qubits.
• Error correction: Achieving fault tolerance requires an overhead of thousands of physical qubits per logical qubit; near-term focus on small-code demonstrations.
• Software & algorithms: Developing noise-aware compilers, error mitigation techniques, and hybrid quantum-classical algorithms is equally vital.
• Applications roadmap: Expect quantum advantage in niche chemistry and optimization problems by 2026–2028, with broader impacts on cryptography, materials, and machine learning in the 2030s.

Comparison Table

Chip / System	Qubits	Qubit Type	Connectivity	Gate Fidelity	Developer
Willow (Dec 2024)	105	Superconducting	Grid	Exponential error reduction methods	Google Quantum AI [1]
Quantum System Two (Mar 2025)	156	Superconducting	Grid	>50× faster logical ops	IBM Quantum [4]
Condor (2023 roadmap)	1,121	Superconducting	Multichip	In development; advanced error mitigation	IBM Quantum [5]
Kookaburra (2025 announcement)	1,386	Superconducting	Multichip link	Planned quantum comm links	IBM Quantum [6]
Aspen-M-3 (2024–2025)	80	Superconducting	Tileable lattice	99.9% (1Q), 98.5% (2Q)	Rigetti [7]
Forte (2022 (cloud))	36	Trapped ion	All-to-all	AQ 36	IonQ [8]
H2 (2024)	56	Trapped ion	Racetrack	99.997% (1Q), 99.87% (2Q)	Quantinuum [9]
Omega (Feb 2025 (announced)	–	Photonic	Waveguide mesh	Room-temp potential, low loss	PsiQuantum [10]
Maxwell (2023)	200	Neutral atoms	Optical lattice	>99% (multi-atom)	M Squared [11]
Advantage 2 (2024)	4400	Superconducting flux	Pegasus Z15	N/A (annealing)	D-Wave [12]

References

[1] H. Neven et al., “Meet Willow, our state-of-the-art quantum chip,” Google Quantum AI blog, Dec 9, 2024.

[2] F. Arute et al., “Quantum supremacy using a programmable superconducting processor,” Nature 574, 505–510 (2019).

[3] Google Quantum AI & collaborators, “Quantum error correction below the surface-code threshold,” Nature 638, 920–926 (2025).

[4] IBM Quantum Blog, “IBM Quantum delivers on 2022 100×100 performance challenge”, Nov 13, 2024.

[5] IBM Research, “The hardware and software for the era of quantum utility is here,” IBM Research Blog, Dec 4, 2023.

[6] IBM Quantum, “IBM roadmap to quantum-centric supercomputers — Updated 2024,” IBM Quantum Blog, 2024.

[7] Rigetti Computing, “Q4 2024 Investor Presentation,”, Dec 2024.

[8] IonQ Staff, “Full-stack innovation to power the quantum-accelerated future: IonQ Quantum OS, IonQ Hybrid Services, and IonQ Forte Enterprise availability,” IonQ Blog, Dec 5, 2024.

[[9] Quantinuum, “System Model H2 product page,” accessed on May 25, 2025.

[10] PsiQuantum, “Omega: A manufacturable chipset for photonic quantum computing,” Company news release, Feb 5, 2025.

[11] M-Squared Lasers, “M Squared reveals state-of-the-art Maxwell neutral-atom quantum computing system,” News & Events, Apr 17, 2023.

[12] D-Wave Systems, “D-Wave announces general availability of Advantage2 quantum computer, its most advanced and performant system,” Press release, May 19, 2025.