Horse Ridge: The powerful processor that can narrow Intel’s goal to achieve quantum supremacy

A few months after Google announced that it had achieved “quantum supremacy,” Intel has laid out its blueprint for its quantum-computing ready chips. The plan outlined by the semiconductor company hinges on a particular component that is being developed by Intel, in collaboration with QuTech.

The latter is a research centre for Quantum Computing and Quantum Internet, and was founded in 2014 by Delft University of Technology (TU Deft) and the Netherlands Organisation of Applied Scientific Research (TNO).

Intel and QuTech have been tight lipped about its project, but they have provided some technical information about Horse Ridge, a cryogenic control chip that is reportedly capable of making quantum computers slimmer, faster, and less reliant on coolants. It may not lead to the realisation of a quantum computer, but should enable Intel to narrow the gap with rivals like Google.