2 days Ago By Rob Thubron
What just happened? IBM has joined the list of companies pledging to pour billions into the US manufacturing industry. The software giant has announced it will be investing $150 billion in the United States over the next five years, including $30 billion toward production of its mainframe and quantum computers. Arvind Krishna, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer, said , "We have been focused on American jobs and manufacturing since our founding 114 years ago, and with this investment and manufacturing commitment we are ensuring that IBM remains the epicenter of the world's most advanced computing and AI capabilities.
" IBM writes that it is one of the nation's largest technology employers, adding that its data processing systems have enabled the US Social Security system, the Apollo Program that put a man on the moon, and powered businesses in every industry. More than 70% of the entire world's transactions by value run through the IBM mainframes that are manufactured in America. A $30 billion chunk of the $150 billion investment will go toward expanding IBM's US manufacturing of quantum computers and mainframes.
The company writes that its Quantum Network provides access to IBM's quantum systems for nearly 300 Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions, national laboratories, and startups, and is accessed by over 600,000 active users. IBM is the latest company to pledge billions of dollars in investment in US manufacturing in the hope of mitigating the impact of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, which threaten to raise production costs. However, Trump said there are exemptions for smartphones, computers, semiconductors, and other electronics.
The tariffs are designed to bring more manufacturing back to the US, though the president's dream of an American-made iPhone will likely remain an impossibility. Nvidia this month said it was investing $500 billion in US manufacturing and would move production of all of its AI supercomputers to Arizona and Texas across the next four years. In March, TSMC announced it would be investing an extra $100 billion in US chip manufacturing, bringing its total to $165 billion.
This came soon after Apple said it would make a $500 billion investment in US manufacturing over the next four years. As part of the package, Cupertino will build a new advanced facility in Houston that will produce servers, previously made outside of the US, that support Apple Intelligence. Whether these companies live up to the full extent of their promised investments remains to be seen, of course.
.
