Intel shares physical quantum processors with a handful of universities. The company can make the chips relatively easily, but is looking for help with further development.

Most companies developing quantum processors provide researchers and customers with access through a cloud service. A hardware maker at heart, Intel follows a different path: the Tunnel collapsesThe company’s chips are physically available and will soon be shipped to a handful of universities across the US.

Not for the store

The quantum chip should not end up on store shelves afterwards. Intel especially hopes to iterate faster with new designs now that more experts are working with the physical chips.

This is necessary because Tunnel collapses anything but a finished product. The chip has 12 qubits, which is fewer than what the competition offers. For these qubits, Intel opts for quantum dots based on silicon technology. The company hopes to use its expertise in manufacturing traditional chips as a basis for the development of quantum processors.

Wafer full of quantum chips

This seems to be partially successful. Intel can already produce full wafers from quantum chips with a yield of more than 95 percent. In addition, the CPU specialist has developed a system for cooling and testing wafers as a whole. This cooling process is important and also the bottleneck of Intel’s strategy.

Quantum chips only work at temperatures around absolute zero. Getting and keeping the chips that cold is a major challenge in the whole quantum development process. Intel stocks Tunnel collapses or from universities, they have to cool the chip themselves. By 2027, Intel wants to build chips with thousands of qubits that can actually be used.