News

IBM Unveils Nighthawk And Loon Quantum Chips

The company’s new processors push toward practical quantum advantage with two divergent chip designs.

Published

11 months ago

November 13, 2025

Nour Nasir

ibm unveils nighthawk and loon quantum chips

IBM

IBM has released a pair of quantum chips — Nighthawk and Loon — that the company hopes will give it a credible shot at demonstrating the quantum advantage over regular processors. The designs split into two directions, with the Loon chip being the more experimental of the pair.

Nighthawk is IBM’s main bet. The chip is a 120-qubit version that’s due for distribution to partners in late 2025, using 218 tunable couplers in a square lattice to tighten control over qubit interactions. IBM says the layout will let it “execute circuits with 30 percent more complexity” and run problems that require up to 5,000 two-qubit gates. The company wants this line to mature quickly enough to power its first verifiable advantage claim.

Loon goes off the conventional path. Instead of keeping qubits on a flat plane, it links them vertically as well. New Scientist has flagged the design as an early test of 3D quantum layouts — an attempt to reduce errors by giving qubits more routes to talk to each other. It’s not aimed at near-term rollout but could shape future rigs if the approach holds.

The split strategy underlines IBM’s view that smart connectivity, not headline qubit counts, will decide who reaches the next milestone. Google, on the other hand, is leaning another way: Its Willow chip, paired with the “Quantum Echoes” algorithm, has already been presented as a proof point for “the first-ever verifiable quantum advantage running the out-of-order time correlator (OTOC) algorithm”.

Also Read: RØDE Unveils Wireless Micro Camera Kit For Hybrid Shooters

IBM is also backing a community-run quantum advantage tracker with Algorithmiq, the Flatiron Institute and BlueQubit. The framework “supports three experiments for quantum advantage across observable estimation, variational problems, and problems with efficient classical verification,” and IBM is pushing researchers to contribute.

For MENA labs building quantum and HPC programs under national digitalization efforts, the contrast between Nighthawk and Loon offers a clearer view of where the hardware race may bend next — tight, lattice-driven control on one side; a stab at 3D connectivity on the other.

The field is moving fast, and IBM’s twin quantum chips mark its next swing at staying in the fight.

News

For etisalat, More Bandwidth Is A Matter Of Digital Sovereignty

The etisalat group plans to expand its international capacity from 20 Tbps to more than 500 Tbps by 2030, with new routes designed for speed and resilience.

Published

2 days ago

October 6, 2026

Nour Nasir

for etisalat, more bandwidth is a matter of digital sovereignty

Emirates News Agency

By 2030, etisalat group plans to lift its international connectivity capacity to more than 500 terabits per second (Tbps), more than 25 times the 20 Tbps it has today. The group presented the expansion as preparation for rising AI demand and an important move for the UAE’s digital sovereignty.

His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, witnessed the launch of the project, which covers the UAE and international markets. Sheikh Mansour is also Chairman of the Emirates Investment Authority, etisalat group’s main shareholder.

He emphasized the role of coordinated national efforts in advancing the UAE’s AI and digital economy ambitions. “AI is a central pillar in our development journey moving forward,” he said, adding that developing the country’s digital capabilities would empower every institution, public and private, to build and innovate with AI “at the scale the coming decade will demand”.

“This project reflects our conviction that the UAE should not simply adopt AI, but govern it and build with it,” said H.E Jassem Mohamed Bu Ataba Alzaabi, Chairman of etisalat group. “That requires digital infrastructure at a scale that would prepare us for the future”. He cast greater international connectivity as a strategic answer to the challenges of processing and moving data globally.

Also Read: RØDE’s Low-Profile Studio Arm Is Designed To Stay Out Of Shot

Beyond raw bandwidth, the expansion will introduce new connectivity routes intended to improve reliability and efficiency, and Alzaabi tied them directly to the sovereignty goal. “Delivered through diversified routes and low-latency design, the project is set to keep the country’s connection to the global digital economy fast, direct and resilient, while ensuring the UAE’s digital sovereignty,” he said.

He also linked the plan to the group’s 50-year commitment to building infrastructure for the nation. The announcement didn’t mention what the expansion will cost. Nor did it name the new routes or say who will build them, the details that would show what digital sovereignty means in practice.