IBM Unveils New Mainframe Computer, Built for the Age of AI

What Happened?

This week IBM unveiled its latest mainframe computing hardware, the IBM Z17.

The fully encrypted mainframe is powered by an IBM Telum II processor and is designed for more than 250 AI use cases, the company says, including AI agents and generative AI.

The new mainframes will be available June 8, 2025.

According to IBM, the new Z17 can process 450 billion inference operations in a day. That’s a 50% increase over its predecessor, the IBM z16, which was released in 2022 and ran on the company’s original Tellum processor.

The system is designed to be able to fully integrate with other hardware, software, and open-source tools.

Why it Matters

The mainframe market remains substantial despite the changes in computing power that occurred during the past generation. According to Market Research Future, 71% of Fortune 500 companies currently use mainframes. In 2024, the mainframe market was worth an estimated $5.3 billion annually.

IBM’s newest mainframe has been built with AI applications specifically in mind. Tina Tarquinio, IBM’s vice-president of product design and management, said “We’re purposely building in AI agility. So as new models are introduced, we’re making sure that we’ve built in the headroom for bigger, larger models.” 

IBM isn’t the only tech company betting big on AI. Several other major tech companies are currently financing the construction of stand-alone power plants for new data centers. 

Data centers are essential for the functioning of many new AI programs, but the amount of data and processing power needed to run them is enormous. Because of that, new power plants are being built which won’t be connected to the regular power grid but will instead be devoted solely to powering data centers to support AI operations.

By building a mainframe designed to support AI, IBM is betting that its current Fortune 500 clients will not only continue to utilize AI programs, but that those companies will increase their use of AI in the next decade. 

That assessment is in line with recent announcements by Fortune 500 companies to develop or incorporate new AI programs into their operations. While AI programs continue to have their share of critics, the amount of money being invested by tech companies and their clients indicates they believe AI has a bright future. 

When new data centers are completed, a range of new AI programs will be available for use, and companies with hardware like IBM’s Z17 will be well positioned to take advantage of those new AI innovations.

How it Affects You

By incorporating more AI programs into their operations, companies providing goods and services to American consumers may soon change the way customers buy or interact with those goods. 

From AI operated fast food drive-throughs to virtual assistants capable of operating web browsers, the next few years are likely to see major AI driven changes in the American economy.