Classical computers have binary switches that represent information as either zero or one. The quantum equivalent of that, called qubits, can represent information as one, zero, or a combination of the two. That's because instead of having bits that store either on-or-off states, qubits store waveforms. 

In this quantum field, IBM's researchers have been hard at work, updating their suite of hardware and software inside a device that aims to solve problems deemed difficult or impossible for the best classical computers available today. 

In May, IBM unveiled an ambitious roadmap towards making quantum computing both more powerful and more practical. At the IBM Summit this week, the company announced the checkpoints they've hit so far, including a newly completed 433-qubit processor called Osprey, and updated versions of their quantum software.