The Signal
Telefónica and IQM to Install Madrid’s First Quantum Computer
Telefónica and IQM plan to install an IQM Spark quantum computer at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid before the end of 2026. The locally hosted system is intended to give researchers, students, hospitals and startups in the Community of Ma
Quantum.world Team · Written with AI · fact-checked ·
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid is set to host the Community of Madrid’s first quantum computer, with Telefónica and IQM aiming to install the system before the end of 2026. The machine, an IQM Spark, is intended to give local researchers and students direct access to quantum hardware rather than relying only on remote systems.
IQM Spark is headed to UPM
The partners announced the plan on October 23. They describe Spark as an integrated system designed for research, education and early-stage development. Universities, hospitals, research centers and startups across the region are among the groups expected to use it to develop and test quantum algorithms.
The announcement does not detail how institutions will arrange access or whether users will pay for time on the machine. It also gives no qubit count, price or installation schedule beyond the commitment to install the system before 2027. Those omissions leave the practical reach of the project unclear, even as the intended user base extends well beyond the host university.
A third system in the Telefónica–IQM partnership
The Madrid computer will be the third system in Spain deployed through the two companies’ collaboration. The partners say two earlier systems went to the Galician Supercomputing Centre, known as CESGA. The new installation brings the collaboration’s hardware to another regional research community, with UPM as its physical base.
Jan Goetz, CEO and co-founder of IQM Quantum Computers, said the local installation is intended to build capabilities over time. “By investing in its own quantum computer, the Community of Madrid is creating an infrastructure that will enable its researchers, students and industries to grow their capabilities over the long term,” he said. Jan Goetz, CEO and co-founder of IQM Quantum Computers
From hardware access to industry use
Telefónica frames the installation as part of a broader regional effort around quantum technology, including work on communications and protection of sensitive data. The computer itself is aimed at research and early-stage development, not at a defined commercial application. The companies say the goal is to help organizations explore use cases that could serve industries in the Community of Madrid.
That distinction matters: placing a quantum computer on campus provides physical access to the equipment, but it does not establish that a particular application will outperform classical computing or reach routine use. The announcement names no first research projects or industrial partners. It also leaves open how users outside UPM will share access and what support they will receive.
The unanswered questions are practical
For now, the clearest commitments are the host institution, the IQM Spark system and the target date: before the end of 2026. The announcement does not state the machine’s qubit count, its cost or the rules for allocating access. Those details will help determine how much of the planned regional access becomes available to hospitals, startups and researchers beyond UPM.