Almost forty-five years ago, Intel chip maker launched the original 8086 microprocessor — the original design of almost every x86 CPU classical computer ever built, including the ones we use now.
It is funny that the design had a different goal in its development cycle. According to Stephen P. Morse of Intel, who at the time led the 8086 development effort, the new CPU “was intended to be short-lived and not have any successors.” Intel’s original goal with the 8086 was to improve overall performance relative to previous products while retaining source compatibility with earlier products (The assembly language for the 8008, 8080, or 8085 could be run on the 8086 after being recompiled).
So, what was all the hype? The 8086 chip offered faster overall performance than the 8080 or 8085 and could address up to 1MB of RAM (the 8085 topped out at 64KB). It contained eight 16-bit registers, which is where the x86 abbreviation comes from in the first place, and was initially offered at a clock speed of 5MHz (later versions were clocked as high as 10MHz).
Fast forward to 2022:
Almost 45 years later, a similar pattern has begun offering a new quantum chip. The resemblance is noticeable. So far, I have lived through both revolutions.
QuantWare company from the Netherlands engaged in designing, developing, and fabricating hardware to enable quantum computing. Their latest product claims to make you a 25-qubit 99.9 accurate QPU in 30 days.
Let's look at the specs here:
Original product information is here:
"Contralto" offers 25 qubits, making it the world's largest commercially available superconducting QPU. It means in 30 days, one can build a new quantum computing startup - not so fast. The delivered product covers different aspects of quantum computing based on application-specific; 2D lattice for error correction, hexagonal connectivity, or even a specific layout for NISQ algorithms. It comes with customizable topology, Hamiltonian parameters, Purcell filters, and QuanWare's home-grown secret sauce, the TSV configuration. Their qubits are fully controllable with dedicated flux and drive lines, measuring at 10-60 μs T1, although subject to stack quality. Contralto claims 99.9% single-qubit gate fidelities. With 30 day lead time, you can get the finished product in die or fully packaged.
I have requested more information about pricing and software licensing information. I will post the results later.
Here is an idea:
I was just thinking that with a 25-qubit superconducting chip and a running quantum computer, a startup can begin building much-needed new quantum algorithms, ready to run on 50, 100, 300 or more qubits when available. Let me know what you think!
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