IBM pulls in JP Morgan, Barclays, Daimler and Samsung to work on its nascent quantum computing technology

Despite retreating from computer hardware, IBM has been keen to plant its flag into the quantum computing sector while it is still young

IT services giant IBM has revealed that as many as twelve organisations will tap into its IBM Q commercial quantum computing system as part of a global network using the technology in business and industry.

Banking groups JP Morgan Chase and Barclays, as well as manufacturers Daimler AG and Samsung, have all been unveiled as buyers of IBM's nascent quantum computing technologies.

Each company plans to use the technology for different purposes. For instance, JP Morgan has teamed up with IBM to look at how quantum computing can solve challenges faced by the financial industry.

The companies said the technology could transform trading strategies, portfolio optimisation, asset pricing and risk analysis for financial institutions.

Meanwhile, Daimler AG wants to use the technology to transform its research. In particular, the company will look at ways the platform can help it develop new materials for developing battery cells.

And Samsung intends to integrate quantum computing in new use cases for materials in microelectronics, "optimising manufacturing and transforming business processes".

In a bid to scale-up the technology, IBM has also detailed plans to establish a network of global hubs at top academic institutions and national labs - to get students familiar with its quantum computing technology ahead of potential rivals, such as specialist D-Wave Systems.

Looking to "enable research, education and broader industrial collaboration", the hubs will be based at Oak Ridge National Lab and Oxford University.

Dario Gil, vice president of AI and IBM Q at IBM Research, said: "IBM sees the next few years as the dawn of the commercial quantum era - a formative period when quantum computing technology and its early use cases develop rapidly.

"The IBM Q Network will serve as a vehicle to make quantum computing more accessible to businesses and organisations through access to the most advanced IBM Q systems and quantum ecosystem."

He added: "Working closely with our clients, together we can begin to explore the ways, big and small, [that] quantum computing can address previously unsolvable problems.

"There will be a shared focus on discovering areas of quantum advantage that may lead to commercial, intellectual and societal benefit in the future."

Lori Beer, CIO at JPMorgan Chase, added: "As a leader in financial services technology, JPMorgan Chase is excited to collaborate with IBM Research in exploring how quantum computing may impact the industry.

"Joining the IBM Q Network allows us to bring our technologists alongside IBM's researchers and leverage cutting-edge quantum systems to learn about how we may be able to apply these technologies in the future."