BlueQubit Physicists Achieve Quantum Supremacy: IBM’s 120-Qubit Processor Completes Task in Seconds While Supercomputer Would Take Over a Century

BlueQubit’s Quantum Processor Breakthrough

According to НВ — Техно: On September 29, 2026, researchers at BlueQubit successfully demonstrated quantum supremacy using IBM’s 120-qubit Nighthawk r2 processor. The quantum device completed a complex computational task in just 19 seconds-a feat that would require the Frontier supercomputer approximately 110 years to replicate. The experiment utilized 61 out of the 120 available qubits and involved 36 cycles with 918 two-qubit gates. During the test, the processor generated one million samples within the recorded time.

The classical computational workload for this task was estimated at roughly 1.2×1027 operations. Notably, the experiment was conducted entirely through IBM’s standard cloud service without any additional hardware calibration. This achievement marks a significant milestone in the ongoing quantum computing race, which began in 2018 when scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, first outlined a benchmark test. In 2019, Google announced its 53-qubit Sycamore quantum computer had reached a similar milestone, although those results were later replicated by classical machines.

The Future of Quantum Computing

The preprint of the BlueQubit team’s research, led by Tigran Sedrakyan, is available on arXiv and is currently awaiting peer review. All circuit designs, samples, and analysis code have been made publicly accessible. Sedrakyan and his colleagues highlighted:

'To our knowledge, this is the first instance of quantum supremacy demonstrated through straightforward random circuit sampling on a commercially available and widely accessible quantum processor-one that non-expert users can easily reproduce.'

This breakthrough opens new pathways for research in quantum computing. BlueQubit’s success underscores the rapid advancements in quantum technologies and their transformative potential for processing power. By outperforming classical supercomputers on highly complex tasks, quantum systems are poised to revolutionize approaches to scientific challenges and practical applications alike. This progress could accelerate the integration of quantum computing into fields such as artificial intelligence, cryptography, and materials science, driving innovation across multiple disciplines.

This recent achievement by BlueQubit is part of a broader trend in quantum computing, where advancements are rapidly transforming the landscape. For instance, Quantinuum's H2 quantum computer has also demonstrated capabilities that surpass traditional systems, highlighting the competitive nature of this field and the potential for further breakthroughs.