IBM to create 750 AI and quantum jobs at Chicago tech park

IBM is expanding its presence at Chicago's Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park and plans to hire 750 people over the next five years. The company will open FutureNow Chicago at the park, a center working at the intersection of AI, quantum computing, cybersecurity and data science.

What IBM is launching

IBM describes FutureNow Chicago as a development and deployment center: a place that will not only test new approaches but also tackle applied problems for clients and industry partners. It is a full-scale center on Chicago's South Side, inside the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, which the state promotes as a key hub for quantum and microelectronics companies. For IBM, it is a way to expand its local team, strengthen client projects and gain a foothold in an ecosystem being built around next-generation computing.

• Full-time roles in AI and enterprise automation
• Teams in quantum computing and algorithms
• Jobs in cybersecurity and risk management
• Positions in data science and related supercomputing fields

Notably, FutureNow Chicago is not being presented as a closed research lab. According to the official description, the hub is meant to help IBM clients and partners work through real business and technology problems while building career paths for local professionals. That puts the project closer to commercial operation than to an academic showcase: IBM is entering the park not only for long-term experiments but also for current revenue, expertise and a talent pipeline.

How the project is structured

The expansion is formalized through an agreement with the State of Illinois. According to Bloomberg Law, IBM will receive $19 million under the state's EDGE tax credit program and, in return, commits to substantial capital investment and to creating 750 new full-time positions over five years. For Governor J.B. Pritzker, it is part of a broader strategy: draw major technology projects to the state and tie them not only to infrastructure but also to employment.

There is a separate emphasis on hiring channels. IBM has pledged to hire one third of qualified graduates of the new City Colleges of Chicago apprenticeship program. Charitable and economic partners of the city and state are also involved, so that workforce training does not become a formality. In essence, the model is simple: the state subsidizes growth, IBM creates jobs, and colleges and local institutions help turn that into a hiring funnel for Chicago's South Side.

"IBM

FutureNow Chicago will create new jobs, expand our ability to work with Chicago clients and help grow the next generation of tech talent," said IBM CEO Arvind Krishna.

Why it matters for Illinois

The IQMP site is one of Illinois' most ambitious tech projects. It is a 128-acre campus on Chicago's South Side, with the first phase expected to be completed by authorities in 2027; construction is already underway, backed by $500 million in state funding. IBM joined the park earlier and became the first Fortune 500 company to publicly commit to the project, so the current hiring is not a one-off announcement but the next step in an expansion already under way.

IBM's interest there goes beyond a hiring office. The company is already involved in building the National Quantum Algorithm Center at IQMP, which is due to receive an IBM Quantum System Two later in 2026. In addition, in mid-April IBM and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign announced an expansion of their joint Discovery Accelerator Institute for research on AI systems and quantum computing. Taken together, IBM is building three layers of presence in Illinois: research, infrastructure and applied business.

What it means

This is more than another jobs figure in a press release. IBM is tying AI and quantum computing to a specific location, tax incentives and local workforce training. That suggests competition for leadership in AI and quantum will increasingly play out not only between models and labs, but between cities that can quickly assemble people, money and physical infrastructure for these technologies.