Telefónica, IQM to install Madrid's first quantum computer by end-2026

Telefónica and IQM will install the Community of Madrid's first quantum computer at the Polytechnic University of Madrid by the end of 2026, the companies said this week. The system is IQM's Spark, which the companies describe as an integrated solution built for research, training and early-stage application development. Data Center Dynamics reported the project.

The Madrid machine adds to two quantum computers the partners have already supplied to the Galicia Supercomputing Center (CESGA). The stated goal is to expand the region's research and development for industrial quantum applications, with universities, hospitals, research centers and startups getting direct access to hardware to test algorithms and explore use cases.

For allocators, the location matters: the Madrid deployment sits at a university rather than one of IQM's own quantum data centers in Finland and Munich, which offer cloud-based access to its systems. IQM, founded in Helsinki in 2018, has delivered machines to supercomputing centers in South Korea, Brazil, Poland, Italy and Taiwan, and began trading on Nasdaq over the summer after a SPAC merger with Real Asset Acquisition Corp. (RAAQ), giving the sector a listed comparable. The report does not include cost, lease term or offtake figures for the Madrid system, so there is no commercial benchmark for the site.

IQM chief executive Jan Goetz said the Community of Madrid's purchase creates infrastructure for its researchers, students and industries to build capabilities over the long term, and called the deal a step forward for Europe's ambition in quantum computing.