Why IBM's CEO Thinks His Company Can Crack Quantum Computing episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 12, 2025 · 35 MIN

Why IBM's CEO Thinks His Company Can Crack Quantum Computing

from Bold Names · host The Wall Street Journal

After spending much of the 2010s in the doldrums, IBM has made something of a comeback in the past five years under the leadership of CEO Arvind Krishna. That's thanks to a lot of the success in its hybrid cloud business, as well as its consulting services. All of this has led to a surge in the company's share price. Now, IBM is betting that quantum computing will be the next big thing. But will Big Blue succeed against rivals like Microsoft and Google who are racing to make their own quantum breakthroughs? And how is the company learning from its past mistakes with Watson AI? Arvind Krishna speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast. To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com. Check Out Past Episodes: This CEO Says Global Trade Is Broken. What Comes Next? What This Former USAID Head Had to Say About Elon Musk and DOGE ‘Businesses Don’t Like Uncertainty’: How Cisco Is Navigating AI and Trump 2.0 Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks' Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After spending much of the 2010s in the doldrums, IBM has made something of a comeback in the past five years under the leadership of CEO Arvind Krishna. That's thanks to a lot of the success in its hybrid cloud business, as well as its consulting services. All of this has led to a surge in the company's share price. Now, IBM is betting that quantum computing will be the next big thing. But will Big Blue succeed against rivals like Microsoft and Google who are racing to make their own quantum breakthroughs? And how is the company learning from its past mistakes with Watson AI? Arvind Krishna speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast. To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com. Check Out Past Episodes: This CEO Says Global Trade Is Broken. What Comes Next? What This Former USAID Head Had to Say About Elon Musk and DOGE ‘Businesses Don’t Like Uncertainty’: How Cisco Is Navigating AI and Trump 2.0 Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks' Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NOW PLAYING

Why IBM's CEO Thinks His Company Can Crack Quantum Computing

0:00 35:19

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Solving for Change MOBIA Technology Innovations Solving for Change welcomes business and technology leaders to share stories of bold business transformation within complex organizations. In an era when technology and markets are changing around businesses, the key to staying competitive is to evolve in response to those changes.  MOBIA’s Mike Reeves and Marc LeBlanc investigate business transformation, deconstructing the challenges, ambitions, and market disruptions that drive companies to embark on transformation journeys, and exploring their unique approaches to achieving meaningful outcomes.  What sparks leaders to pursue business transformation? How do they overcome the challenges along the way? What are the keys to creating enduring change?  Through in-depth conversations with business and technology leaders, Mike and Marc answer these questions and explore how businesses evolve by pulling four key transformation levers: people, process, technology, and culture. RAISING THE BAR MUSICHYPEBEAST The RAISING THE BAR Podcast is dedicated to providing a fresh and unconventional broadcast platform for the biggest names in music and entertainment.The interview insight provided by the staff of MUSICHYPEBEAST separates us from the pack. The passion of RAISING THE BAR podcast is fueled by Millennial Music culture. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Capital Ideas Podcast Capital Group Want to learn how professional investors do it? The Capital Ideas podcast brings you the latest investment thinking from Capital Group, one of the world's largest investment management organizations. Each week we'll get inside the minds of portfolio managers, analysts and economists to break down market trends, macroeconomic forces, investing approaches and lessons learned from personal experience. Take 30 minutes and tap into the intellectual capital of Capital Group. Capital Client Group, Inc.All Capital Group trademarks mentioned are owned by The Capital Group Companies, Inc., an affiliated company or fund. All other company and product names mentioned are the property of their respective companies.For full disclosures go to capitalgroup.com/global-disclosures. Billionaire HealthCare Ashley Black Billionaire HealthCare is geared towards the average person who wants to be healthy. Many “illnesses” are really just names given to symptoms and not the root cause. Many athletic limitations are not things that “just happen” as we age, but problems that can be improved and even prevented. In this show, Ashley will dive into these issues and enlighten you about what REALLY is going on with your body, and give you real life strategies to overcome your limitations. She believes that the knowledge of the living matrix, fascia, can completely change the HealthCare paradigm; that conventional healthcare and fitness DERAILED, and that her knowledge of the secrets of the rich and famous can get us back on track. You will take away instant strategies that you can begin to incorporate into your life immediately. The education and solutions discussed on Billionaire HealthCare will ease the question that we all ask ourselves,“Could I be better?” The answer is, “Yes you can, and here’s how!”

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Bold Names?

This episode is 35 minutes long.

When was this Bold Names episode published?

This episode was published on September 12, 2025.

What is this episode about?

After spending much of the 2010s in the doldrums, IBM has made something of a comeback in the past five years under the leadership of CEO Arvind Krishna. That's thanks to a lot of the success in its hybrid cloud business, as well as its consulting...

Can I download this Bold Names episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!