CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS — The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and IBM announced the launch of the MIT-IBM Computing Research Lab on April 29, 2026, expanding their decade-long research partnership to include quantum computing alongside foundational artificial intelligence work. The lab evolves from the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, which originated in 2017 on MIT's campus.

The new entity will serve as a focal point for joint research in artificial intelligence, algorithms, and quantum computing, as well as the integration of these technologies into hybrid computing systems. Its stated aim is to unlock new computational approaches that go beyond the limits of classical systems by combining advances in artificial intelligence with quantum-centric supercomputing, including integrating maturing quantum hardware with classical systems and advanced AI methods.

"We expect the MIT-IBM Computing Research Lab to emerge as one of the world's premier academic and industrial hubs accelerating the future of computing. Together, the brightest minds at MIT and IBM will rethink how models, algorithms, and systems are designed for an era that will be defined by the sum of what's possible when AI and quantum computing come together," said Jay Gambetta, director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow, who will serve as IBM chair of the lab.

The research agenda includes work on small, efficient, modular language model architectures, novel AI computing paradigms, and enterprise-focused AI systems designed for deployment in real-world environments requiring reliability, transparency, and trust. Researchers will also develop quantum algorithms for problems in materials science, chemistry, and biology, and investigate mathematical and algorithmic foundations of machine learning, optimization, Hamiltonian simulations, and partial differential equations used to approximate the behaviors of dynamical systems that currently exceed the scale and accuracy capabilities of classical systems.

Potential applications cited include more accurate weather and air turbulence prediction, better forecasts of financial market performance, lower risks in finance, prediction of protein structures for more targeted medicine, and more streamlined global supply chains. The lab will leverage IBM's work toward delivering the world's first fault-tolerant quantum computer, a goal IBM has set for 2029.

Anantha Chandrakasan, Provost of MIT, will serve as MIT chair of the lab. "For a decade, the collaboration between MIT and IBM has produced leading-edge research and innovation, and provided mentorship and supported the professional growth of researchers both at MIT and IBM. The incredible technical achievements sets the bar high for our work together over the next 10 years. I look forward to another decade of impact," Chandrakasan said.

The lab will complement the work of MIT's Generative AI Impact Consortium and the MIT Quantum Initiative, both launched by MIT President Sally Kornbluth, and will engage faculty and students across MIT departments. It will be co-directed by Aude Oliva, a senior research scientist at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and David Cox, vice president of AI Foundations at IBM Research.