Quantum-centric supercomputing simulates 12,635-atom protein

IBM researchers demonstrated a quantum-centric supercomputing approach that successfully simulated a protein containing 12,635 atoms in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic and RIKEN, combining classical and quantum computing resources. This breakthrough represents a significant advancement in using hybrid quantum-classical systems to model complex biological molecules that would be computationally intractable on classical systems alone. The achievement illustrates the practical application of quantum computing toward solving real-world problems in chemistry and drug discovery.

Source: IBM Research | 2026-05-05