The IBM Tech Summit in Porto got industry bigwigs together to chat about AI, digital stuff, and what's coming next—quantum computers. The vibe was both excited but grounded, with everyone seeming to think Portugal could play a real part in the tech world to come.
Ricardo Martinho, head of IBM Portugal, kicked things off by talking about how quantum tech could totally shake things up. He thinks quantum computing will totally change how we live, setting the scene to talk about how businesses need to keep up with tech that's changing super quick. Martinho talked about two top goals: fitting new stuff in with what they already have, and putting money into solutions that are open and easy to change. He said IBM's mix-and-match cloud thing is key to making this work.
He also mentioned AI helpers that are popping up, calling them digital work buddies that can handle tough jobs on their own—way more than old-school assistants could do. Being open and different kept coming up. Martinho pointed out that IBM's Granite models use open rules, so companies can create safe, controlled, and special solutions instead of using the same old basic models.
Quantum computing was the main thing they talked about later on. Martinho went back to IBM's recent wins, like launching System 2 and planning a quantum supercomputer that fixes errors and has over 100,000 qubits by 2029. He made a big claim too: IBM thinks they'll get quantum advantage as soon as 2026.
With all this in mind, Martinho shared something he really wants to happen—to get a quantum computing center built in Portugal. He thinks the country has the skills and situation to jump into this new way of computing but said it's a must to have a stable government and everyone—universities, businesses, and research groups—working together.
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