NEW YORK: IBM Corp (IBM) said on Monday that the company is looking to invest $150 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, with an overriding intention to augment the quantum computer production within the country.
This makes IBM the newest among the tech giants to align its interests with the Trump administration's plan on localizing the production of technologies already committed to by Nvidia and Apple.
It will be a total investment of which IBM will allocate over $30 billion for the strengthening of quantum computer and mainframe production in the U.S.—vital terms used for high-speed data processing and other government applications.
With IBM being a major government contractor, their strategic outlook is based on geopolitical and economic aspects such as trade policies and the threat of supply chains by tariffs presently enforced.
The whole world of quantum computing appears to be moving at an extremely fast pace. The companies such as Google and Nvidia have stirred debates within the industry because their forecasts deviate widely on when quantum technology will eventually become marketable, with variance from five to twenty years.
IBM, which operates one of the largest fleets of quantum systems in the world, still is laying claim to being at the forefront of this curve of innovation.
However, some analysts see the specter of IBM's giant-sum investment as a well-played political/business game. According to D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria, this can somehow serve in a strategic gesture to mitigate against risks imported from conflicts and government policies in the realm of trade.
The announcement comes at a time when IBM is in otherwise very uncertain waters at the federal level, given that it has been mired in 15 U.S. federal contracts severance due to the federal government trying to downsize costs.
All the same, IBM is in a sound financial standing, salting away $14.8 billion in cash reserves at year-end 2024, restoring its American footprint with its reinvested in quantum technology.
[Source Credit: Business Recorder]
