Yonsei University in South Korea is upgrading its on-premises IBM Quantum System One installation to IBM's next-generation Nighthawk processor.

 An existing customer upgrading to next-gen hardware, rather than a new customer's first purchase, is a real retention and expansion signal for IBM's on-premises quantum hardware business specifically, distinct from IBM's cloud-access customers.

A single university upgrade doesn't move the needle financially for IBM, but it's a data point on whether IBM's on-premises installed base sticks around and upgrades rather than churning to a competitor. Worth aggregating with other on-premises upgrade announcements over time rather than reading in isolation.

Seoul Economic Daily, "Yonsei to Build World's Second Nighthawk Quantum Computer," August 12, 2026, https://en.sedaily.com/technology/2026/08/12/yonsei-to-build-worlds-second-nighthawk-quantum-computer.