Perception of Intel as a global IT powerhouse has faded out in the last decade of disappointing growth, failure to chip in in the mobile boom and spreading out thinly over emerging segments like Big Data, IoT and driverless cars. Yet within a week Intel has dropped two bombs that can drastically improve Intel’s standing. Intel has revealed a comprehensive hardware and software FPGA platform and a 17-qubit chip quantum computing package, both developments addressing complex data-intensive applications in the areas of aerospace & defense, genomics, finance and industry 4.0.
Will any of these developments be a game changer for Intel? In the FPGA acceleration game Intel has a critical advantage, snapping about 50% of FPGA market in Altera acquisition of 2015. The same year, in 2015, Intel announced a 10-year collaborative relationship with the Delft University of Technology and TNO, the Dutch Organisation for Applied Research, to accelerate advancements in quantum computing and investment of US$50 million in quantum computing. In the quantum computing field Intel’s advantage is less pronounced, with heavy players like IBM, Google and Microsoft already stomping the ground.
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