But there’s leadership continuity, with quantum hardware leader James Clarke and quantum systems and software leader Anne Matsuura still at the company.
“Maybe this means Lip-Bu wants to [reorient] Intel’s focus and investment in quantum computing,” said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.
Intel has a solid record of success with technology moonshots, and its neuromorphic chip development is the best in the business, said Ian Cutress, chief analyst at semiconductor consulting firm More Than Moore.
“Intel’s [quantum] approach, since [former CEO Robert] Swan took over, to be honest, has been a lot less public. They would need to match — if not surpass — to develop their current quantum technologies beyond their competitors,” he said.
One of those competitors, IBM, is far ahead with its quantum efforts. The company has a quantum cloud available for rental now and a mature product plan for the next several years. IBM has “an open roadmap to 2033, which they’ve been working on since 2022, and every year they’ve been hitting their targets like clockwork,” Cutress said.
Intel’s investment arm, Intel Capital, recently invested $178 million in quantum processor company QuantWare. But an investment by Intel Capital doesn’t always mean Intel adopts a technology.
