IBM and Governor JB Pritzker have announced the launch of FutureNow Chicago, a new delivery center at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park on Chicago’s South Side that will create 750 new full-time jobs in AI, cybersecurity, data science, quantum, and related fields over the next five years. The center will serve as an innovation and delivery hub helping IBM clients and industry partners solve complex business and technology challenges while building career pathways for local Illinois talent.
IBM will become an anchor tenant in IQMP’s Quantum Works building, a cutting-edge innovation and talent development hub that also houses programs from the National Quantum Algorithm Center, the Discovery Partners Institute, and various community and workforce development initiatives. The State has entered into an Economic Development for a Growing Economy agreement with IBM, in which the company has committed to making a substantial capital investment over the term of the IQMP lease agreement.
A central component of the announcement is a new apprenticeship program being launched by City Colleges of Chicago, designed with IBM’s input to prepare Illinoisans for careers in advanced technology. Over the next five years, City Colleges will support 500 apprentices, with IBM committing to hire one third of qualified program graduates. The initiative prioritizes residents of Chicago’s South Side, a community that has experienced decades of industrial disinvestment. IBM is further supporting talent pipelines through partnerships with Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and Chicago State University to offer internships.
The announcement builds on Illinois’ 2024 establishment of the National Quantum Algorithm Center with IBM, which is fueled by IBM’s next-generation, modular IBM Quantum System Two. The IQMP is projected to generate up to $20 billion in economic impact and create thousands of jobs as Illinois continues to attract quantum companies to the state. Illinois ranks first in workforce development in the Midwest and third nationwide.
KEY QUOTES:
“IBM’s investment in Illinois is a powerful vote of confidence in our state’s growing technology and quantum ecosystem and the world-class workforce that powers it. We are creating real opportunity for Illinoisans to access careers in the industries of the future and enabling communities on Chicago’s South Side to benefit from the economic opportunity this project brings.”
Governor JB Pritzker, State of Illinois
“IBM’s FutureNow Chicago delivery center will support new jobs, expand our Chicago delivery capability for IBM’s clients, and together, we will build the future of technology talent and create sustained economic growth.”
Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO, IBM
“The IQMP’s mission is to advance quantum technology so that it can become a tool to help solve the world’s most complex problems, and ensure that those from the community we call home are part of this innovation from the outset.”
Dr. Harley Johnson, CEO, Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park
“This partnership launches Chicago Moonshot and transforms the paid apprenticeship model, the fastest pathway to upward mobility. By connecting our students to paid apprenticeships in Chicago’s growing quantum ecosystem, we’re opening doors to high-growth careers at scale and building a more inclusive economy for our city and state.”
Juan Salgado, Chancellor, City Colleges of Chicago
