06:37 AM EST, 11/20/2025 (MT Newswires) -- International Business Machines ( IBM ) and Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) said Thursday they plan to explore the development of quantum hardware and software that could physically link multiple large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers together to establish networked distributed quantum computing.

The companies are eyeing an initial proof-of-concept demonstration by the end of 2030.

IBM ( IBM ) and Cisco ( CSCO ) also said they will work to solve "fundamental challenges towards a quantum computing internet."

IBM ( IBM ) shares were up 1.8% in recent premarket activity, while Cisco ( CSCO ) rose 0.8%.