The partnership puts Biggish Blue's quantum know-how together with AMD’s CPUs, GPUs and FPGAs, aiming to accelerate algorithms that stall out when left to classical machines or still-immature quantum rigs. The big idea is to build an architecture where quantum systems and high-performance compute feed into each other rather than compete.

IBM top suit Arvind Krishna said: “Quantum computing will simulate the natural world and represent information in an entirely new way. By exploring how quantum computers from IBM and the advanced high-performance compute technologies of AMD can work together, we will build a powerful hybrid model that pushes past the limits of traditional computing.”

AMD chair and CEO Lisa Su said: “High-performance computing is the foundation for solving the world’s most important challenges. As we partner with IBM to explore the convergence of high-performance computing and quantum technologies, we see tremendous opportunities to accelerate discovery and innovation.”

Under the deal IBM gets more classical horsepower to prop up its quantum roadmap toward fault-tolerant systems later this decade, while AMD adds quantum credentials to its supercomputing CV, which already includes Frontier and El Capitan. The companies say their first demo will land later this year, showing AMD hardware and IBM qubits working side-by-side in hybrid workflows.

They’re promising open-source platforms to draw in researchers, with Qiskit at the heart of the software stack. Expected target markets include drug discovery, materials science and supply chain optimisation which is the kind of heavy computational lifting that doesn’t fit neatly into today’s silicon boxes.

IBM has already been cosying up to research outfits like Japan’s Riken, Cleveland Clinic and Lockheed Martin, but adding AMD into the mix gives Big Blue a mainstream HPC partner.