IBM spins off America's first quantum chip foundry backed by $2 billion in federal and private funding

At a glance:

• IBM is creating Anderon, a standalone company and America's first pure-play quantum chip foundry, with $1 billion in proposed CHIPS Act R&D funding and $1 billion from IBM itself.
• The foundry will be headquartered in Albany, New York, and operate a 300mm quantum wafer fab that offers manufacturing services to competing quantum hardware vendors.
• The move is part of a $2.013 billion federal quantum portfolio split across nine companies, the largest single quantum R&D commitment in U.S. history.

What is Anderon and why does it matter

IBM has announced the formation of Anderon, a new standalone company that will become America's first pure-play quantum chip foundry. The venture is backed by a proposed $1 billion R&D award from the U.S. Department of Commerce under the CHIPS Act and a matching $1 billion cash investment from IBM. Headquartered in Albany, New York, Anderon will operate a 300mm quantum wafer fab and offer its manufacturing services not only to IBM's own quantum programs but also to competing quantum hardware vendors — a move that signals a shift toward an open foundry model in the quantum space.

The announcement positions the U.S. to gain a dedicated manufacturing capability for quantum processors, something that has largely been absent from the country's chip-making infrastructure. Until now, quantum chips have been fabricated in niche academic or corporate cleanrooms with limited capacity and no shared fab services. Anderon's 300mm wafer fab is expected to bring industrial-scale production to quantum hardware, potentially lowering costs and accelerating the development cycle for the entire ecosystem.

The $2 billion federal quantum portfolio

Anderon did not emerge in isolation. It is the centerpiece of a broader $2.013 billion federal quantum portfolio announced by the U.S. government, funding that is being distributed across nine companies. This is described as the largest single quantum R&D commitment in U.S. history, reflecting the Biden administration's push to secure leadership in quantum computing as a national security and economic priority.

The portfolio's structure — splitting more than $2 billion across multiple vendors rather than concentrating it with a single player — suggests a deliberate strategy to build a diversified quantum supply chain. That approach is consistent with CHIPS Act principles aimed at reducing dependence on foreign semiconductor manufacturing, and it echoes similar diversification efforts in classical chipmaking.

Who is affected and what comes next

The creation of Anderon affects every company building quantum processors in the U.S. By offering foundry services to competing vendors, Anderon could become the go-to fabrication partner for startups and established players alike. That includes organizations working on superconducting qubit chips, photonic quantum processors, and other quantum computing architectures that need high-quality wafer-scale manufacturing.

The Albany location is also significant. New York has been investing in its semiconductor workforce and infrastructure, and the state's partnership with IBM on quantum research dates back years. The foundry's opening timeline, target wafer sizes for different quantum technologies, and pricing structure have not yet been disclosed, but industry watchers will be watching closely for details on capacity, lead times, and which quantum chip designs will be prioritized.

Why the open-foundry model is a big deal

One of the most striking aspects of the Anderon announcement is that it will manufacture chips for competitors. In classical semiconductors, foundries like TSMC serve multiple clients but rarely share process details across the industry. Anderon appears willing to do exactly that for quantum hardware, which could speed up the entire field by letting smaller companies access state-of-the-art fabrication without building their own fabs.

That openness, however, raises questions about IP protection, process standardization, and whether a single foundry can serve the diverse range of quantum architectures in development — from superconducting transmons to silicon spin qubits to topological qubits. How Anderon manages these tensions will be a key test of the model.

Tags:

• quantum computing
• IBM
• CHIPS Act
• Anderon
• quantum foundry
• Albany NY