IBM (NYSE: IBM) published the first reference architecture for quantum-centric supercomputing on March 12, 2026, providing a blueprint for integrating quantum processors with classical computing systems including CPUs and GPUs across on-premises, research center, and cloud environments.

The architecture combines quantum hardware with classical infrastructure, high-speed networking, and shared storage to support computationally intensive workloads. IBM's approach uses coordinated workflows spanning quantum and classical computing through integrated orchestration and open software frameworks including Qiskit.

"The future lies in quantum-centric supercomputing, where quantum processors work together with classical high-performance computing to solve problems that were previously out of reach," said Jay Gambetta, Director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow.

Several research collaborations have demonstrated the architecture's capabilities. Researchers from IBM, University of Manchester, Oxford University, ETH Zurich, EPFL, and University of Regensburg created a half-Möbius molecule and verified its electronic structure using quantum-centric supercomputing, with results published in Science. Cleveland Clinic simulated a 303-atom tryptophan-cage mini-protein, representing one of the largest molecular models executed on a quantum-centric supercomputer.

A team from IBM, RIKEN, and University of Chicago identified the lowest-energy state of engineered quantum systems, outperforming classical-only approaches. RIKEN and IBM scientists achieved quantum simulations of iron-sulfur clusters using closed loop data exchange between an IBM Quantum Heron processor and all 152,064 classical compute nodes of RIKEN's Fugaku supercomputer.

IBM and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are working to improve workflow scheduling and orchestration across quantum and high-performance computing resources. The company stated that deploying new algorithms on this architecture will drive applications in chemistry, materials science, and optimization.