Breaking ground on India’s quantum future

India takes a bold step toward scaling its quantum workforce this week as the Government of Andhra Pradesh, a State in southern India, begins construction on Quantum Valley Tech Park in the capital city of Amaravati. Quantum Valley Tech Park will soon host India’s first IBM quantum computer, and tech park members already enjoy access to IBM’s cloud-based quantum computers thanks to a partnership between IBM and India’s Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), first announced last spring.

These initiatives are bringing renewed national focus to India’s ongoing efforts in quantum education and workforce development. According to a report published by the Government of India’s apex policy think tank NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) in December, India will need to train approximately 100,000 quantum developers to secure its place as a quantum computing leader in the 2030s, a decade that will be shaped by the emergence of large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computing. The message is clear: India’s long-term competitiveness in quantum computing will hinge on the strength of its talent pipeline.

“With Quantum Valley Tech Park, Andhra Pradesh is building a global innovation hub that will empower our students, researchers, and industry to lead in this transformative field,” said N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. “By collaborating with global leaders like IBM and TCS, we are accelerating India’s progress toward the goals of our National Quantum Mission and shaping a future defined by opportunity, discovery, and economic growth."

“The start of construction at Quantum Valley Tech Park is an exciting milestone in our collaboration with the Government of Andhra Pradesh,” said Scott Crowder, Vice President, IBM Quantum Adoption and Business Development. “India has rapidly expanded its quantum education and research infrastructure. Now, as it prepares to welcome its first IBM quantum computer, this emerging ecosystem is poised to drive new scientific discoveries, advance real-world applications, and accelerate the journey to quantum advantage and beyond.”

The new Quantum Valley Tech Park will play a pivotal role in building India's talent pipeline, and in making India a true force in the global quantum industry. The tech park’s ground breaking follows similar momentum across IBM’s global quantum network, where regions from Europe to East Asia are scaling infrastructure and workforce programs to prepare for the next era of quantum computing.

A nationwide learning engine

India’s push to build that quantum talent pipeline is already well underway through India’s National Quantum Mission, which aims to make the country a hub of technological innovation and economic growth in the global quantum computing industry. It’s also being driven by organizations like IBM, which has been actively engaged in quantum education and upskilling initiatives across the country since 2021.

A flagship component of IBM’s work there has been Introduction to Quantum Computing, a beginner-friendly, Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) launched in partnership with IIT Madras in 2021 and offered through the Government of India’s National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) platform. This free, four-week-long course is recognized by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and has quickly become India’s biggest on-ramp to quantum skills-building.

NPTEL’s Introduction to Quantum Computing course has already trained over 37,000 learners in the last four years, and enrollment is accelerating fast. Enrollment for 2026 has already crossed a staggering 208,785 participants with over 100,000 of those coming from Andhra Pradesh.

In addition to the introductory quantum computing MOOC, NPTEL also offers a more advanced quantum computing course comprising 24 weeks of learning modules that provide a deep dive into the subject over the course of a year. This paid course has trained now 300+ learners, many of whom have been supported by industry sponsorships.

These community-level learning programs sit alongside broader efforts across academia in India. For example, IBM has spent years helping to integrate quantum education more deeply into India’s formal academic system. This has included support for the introduction of a minor degree in quantum technologies at the undergraduate level and a masters program in quantum technology that is now available across all AICTE engineering institutions nationwide.

IBM Quantum researchers have contributed extensively to curriculum design, faculty training, and textbook development through these efforts, and that work is paying off. Together with partners from all across India’s quantum community, IBM has delivered year-long faculty development programs that have already trained over 9,500 faculty members in just the past year. These faculty will form the teaching force tasked with preparing India’s next generation of quantum professionals.

A foundation for long-term leadership

Students and faculty trained through India’s growing quantum talent pipeline will benefit immensely from the completion of the Quantum Valley Tech Park in Andhra Pradesh. The tech park will host India’s first IBM quantum computer, an IBM Quantum System Two powered by the latest available IBM Quantum processor. With its modular design, engineered for HPC integration, IBM Quantum System Two delivers the scalable infrastructure needed to support India’s research and future workforce for years to come.

However, a quantum workforce isn’t just built after the hardware arrives. While construction is underway, Quantum Valley Tech Park members can work with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to access IBM quantum computers over the cloud. TCS has had IBM Quantum cloud access since November 2025 and has already run skills development workshops and an internal hackathon.

Beyond facilitating access to IBM quantum computers and runtime services, TCS has also partnered with IBM to support the development of new algorithms and applications that will help Indian industry and academia tackle the nation’s most challenging and valuable problems.

What comes next

As India solidifies its quantum industry foundation, its students and researchers gain a real advantage. The country’s quantum talent pipeline is maturing at the same time that the technology and science of quantum computing is approaching long-sought, paradigm-shifting milestones.

IBM expects that the first cases of verified quantum advantage will emerge by the end of 2026, and has shared its plans to deliver fault-tolerant quantum computers by 2029. These advances will fundamentally reshape the computing landscape, and the countries like India that are working towards quantum readiness today will be well-positioned to become the quantum industry leaders of tomorrow.