The three-year deal will give LG Electronics access to IBM’s quantum computing systems, experts, and their “Qiskit” open-source quantum information software development kit. “Based on our open innovation strategy, we plan to use IBM Quantum to develop our competency in quantum computing,” said Byoung-Hoon Kim, CTO and executive vice president of LG Electronics. “We aim to provide customers with value that they have not experienced so far by leveraging quantum computing technology in future businesses.” LG Electronics said it plans to explore quantum computing’s uses for high data processing tools like AI, connected cars, digital transformation, IoT, and robotics applications. The two companies also said it would be a “workforce training” opportunity for LG employees, who will seek to apply the technology to various industries. Jay Gambetta, VP of quantum computing at IBM, said it is an exciting time for quantum computing in Korea and throughout the region. “The relationship between IBM and LG Electronics will permit LG to explore new types of problems associated with emerging technologies and will help strengthen the quantum capabilities in Korea,” Gambetta said. LG Electronics joins a group of more than 170 companies working with IBM’s quantum computing tools, which include the recently-unveiled Eagle quantum computing processor with 127 qubits. “Quantum computing is an exciting evolution in computation. While classical computers calculate in bits that represent 0 and 1, quantum computers use qubits that harness quantum mechanical phenomena such as interference and entanglement in computation to solve problems that are fundamentally intractable for classical computers,” IBM stated in its announcement.
