US-based semiconductor technology manufacturer Intel pledged today to invest $50m in quantum computing technology over the next decade as part of a strategic collaboration.
Intel is partnering with the Netherlands-based Delft University of Technology and TNO, the Dutch Organisation for Applied Research, and will supply cash as well as technical support and engineering resources both on-site and at its Dutch corporate location.
Quantum computing is different to currently used digital computers in that it is based on transistors that require data to be encoded into binary digits. The quantum bits used in quantum computing can exist in several states at the same time, meaning that a larger number of calculations can be made in parallel.
The funding and support is being provided because of the potential quantum computing has to enhance the potential of high performance computing in future, Intel said. It could also hold the key to solving complex problems in fields such as financial analysis and drug development.
Mike Mayberry, Intel vice president and managing director of its research division, Intel Labs, said: “A fully functioning quantum computer is at least a dozen years away, but the practical and theoretical research efforts we are announcing today mark an important milestone in the journey to bring it closer to reality.”