Intel has committed engineering resources and $50 million as part of a 10-year partnership with a Dutch university in a project that aims to advance research in future quantum computing technology.
The partnership with TNO, the Dutch Organization for Applied Research and the Delft University of Technology will involve materials and research at both Intel and the university.
Intel is not the only top high-tech company involved with quantum computing. Google also has a quantum computing lab that operates with NASA for a project experimenting with a quantum computer from a Canadian startup, D-Wave Systems.
IBM has invested significant amounts in basic quantum computing research in its labs and Lockheed Martin has also purchased a D-wave machine. Perhaps Intel is trying to show that Moore's Law is coming to an end and that it's time to find other ways of moving forward the computing technology.
Intel's co-founder Gordon Moore came with his statement in the '60s. According to him, the number of transistors on a chip would double every two years.
Until now Intel has reaped the benefits of making ever smaller chips packed with more and more transistor components and the entire computing industry has profited in the form of smaller, cheaper and faster computers.
Now it seems that model is coming at an end. Since physics make it more expensive and challenging to keep up with Moore's Law, researchers are looking elsewhere.
The trendy solution nowadays is quantum computing. This avenue of research is completely unlike traditional transistor-based computing.
Quantum computers could solve complex problems other computers can't, such as simulations of molecules for drug development and perform the large-scale financial analysis.
Quantum computing is more probabilistic, rather than using binary ones and zeros as transistors do. Quantum entanglement allows a combination of ones and zeros to use quantum bits of information in order to simultaneously answer many questions. These quantum bits of information generally only hold their state when they are kept very cold and they are called qubits.
Intel vice president and managing director of Intel Labs Mike Mayberry explained in a press release that the company could help make quantum computing a reality. Intel will not focus so much on quantum theory but rather will work to create the specialized electronics that connect the qubits.
According to Mayberry, up to date qubit development has been the main focus of quantum computing research. However, in order to control, connect and measure multiple qubits will be required low-temperature electronics and this is where Intel can contribute.
Quantum computing is an exciting and promising area of research. It was discovered around 14 years ago, yet in the last five years several big-name companies have started putting more money and engineering resources behind developing the technology and making quantum computing a reality.
According to Intel's CEO Brian Krzanich who wrote in a blog on this investment, Intel is able to help advance progress in this field by using their leading electronics, manufacturing, and architectural expertise.
The American high-tech company can also help with scaling this technology. Since this kind of research is on the cutting edge of software and architecture, Intel's expertise in all these can certainly help accelerate the advances in this emerging field of quantum computing.
