Intel, a renowned US-based semiconductor manufacturing company, reportedly launched a new chip dubbed the 'Horse Ridge'. It is a cryogenic control chip that would expedite full-stack quantum computing systems development. As per the company, Horse Ridge would enable quantum computers that are commercially viable. The company has designed this chip to take up entire work being done by the wires and further shrink it to electronics that are approximately as big as a teacup saucer. The new Horse Ridge chip was developed in a collaborative effort between Intel and QuTech, a JV between TNO (Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research) and TU Delft. The Horse Ridge chip would control multiple qubits (quantum bits) concurrently. This is a very important ability that is required to develop an extensive commercial quantum system. The Silicon Valley-based chipmaker has evaluated superconducting qubit systems and silicon spin qubit. The company believes that the main challenges faced while developing commercial-scale quantum computing are control electronics and interconnects, not the manufacturing of qubits themselves. Quantum computers have remained years away from day-to-day use. However, they have attracted the attention of global technology giants. Recently, in October, researchers at Google stated that they had built a system that was capable of outpacing conventional computers. Additionally, other technology giants like Microsoft Corp and International Business Machines are pursuing quantum technology. The company stated that its chip is named after a particular area in the state of Oregon. This is one of the coldest spots of the nation. The company has several of its factories in the state. This chip is manufactured to be able to fit within the quantum refrigerator. Intel expects that this chip would make its quantum computers more practical to manufacture in the coming years. Intel's director of quantum hardware, Jim Clarke stated that the company realized that quantum controls were the key parts of the puzzle Intel needed to solve to build a large-scale commercial quantum computing system. Source credit: https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/3041364/intel-creates-chip-shrink-equipment-needed-control-quantum