Intel in Quantum: Tunnel Falls and the 300 mm Silicon Spin Qubit Bet
What Intel builds
Intel is the large chip maker in this series, and its quantum program matches its identity: use the transistor factory to make qubits. The qubits are silicon spin qubits, where the spin of a single electron held in a tiny transistor like structure stores the quantum information. If you are new to the idea, read the silicon spin guide first, and compare other makers in the silicon spin comparison.
Tunnel Falls: the 2023 chip
Intel announced Tunnel Falls on June 15, 2023 (Physics World covered it on June 22). It is a 12 qubit silicon spin array made on 300 millimeter wafers at Intel's D1 facility in Oregon, using extreme ultraviolet lithography. Physics World reports about 95 percent yield across the wafer and more than 24,000 quantum dot devices per wafer. Early recipients were the University of Maryland, Sandia National Laboratories, the University of Rochester and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, under a research program with the US Army Research Office. Physics World noted that the article gave no gate fidelity or coherence figures for the chip, and that Intel's quantum hardware director said significant challenges remain before fault tolerance. Intel also said a next generation chip was expected the following year.
The 2024 wafer scale result
In May 2024 Intel published a Nature paper on probing single electrons across 300 mm spin qubit wafers. Reporting by eeNews Europe says Intel built a cryogenic wafer probing process using standard chip manufacturing methods, and that devices reached 99.9 percent gate fidelity, which Intel called the highest reported for qubits made with an all industry manufacturing process. Spin qubits are about 100 nanometers across by that account, far smaller than superconducting qubits. Intel's stated next steps were more interconnect layers for two dimensional arrays with more qubits and better connectivity, and demonstrating high fidelity two qubit gates on its manufacturing process. Note the difference: the 99.9 percent figure is for a single qubit style gate on individual devices, not a full two qubit machine.
Latest verified milestone
The latest item I could verify is the May 2024 Nature work. Searches for 2026 Intel quantum news turned up nothing new from Intel, so the status of any successor chip is unconfirmed. If you hear of a newer Intel chip, find Intel's own announcement.
Strategy: manufacturing first
Intel is not building a cloud service or a full machine for customers. It is trying to prove one argument: that the semiconductor industry's tools give spin qubits an edge in uniformity and volume. Its reported plan is to integrate chips into a full stack with its own software kit, but the sources reviewed show research chips rather than a commercial system. Compared with the 100 plus qubit machines from IBM and Google, 12 qubits is small, and Physics World made the same point in 2023. The potential payoff is the long game described in the foundries guide, where qubit count in the millions would need chip factory economics.
Risks and open questions
- High fidelity two qubit gates across many neighbors have to be shown at scale.
- Wiring and cryogenic control for large arrays, discussed in the wiring guide.
- Corporate priorities: a company with many other pressures may slow a long research program, so look for fresh publications rather than assuming progress.
What to watch
- A new array chip announcement or Nature level paper on two qubit gates.
- Shipment of devices to more labs through the qubit foundry programs.
- Competing silicon work from Diraq, Quantum Motion and Silicon Quantum Computing, summarized in the Quantum Motion guide.
Token reminder
None of this concerns the QNT memecoin, which is independent of Intel and of Quantinuum Ltd. This page is education, not financial advice, and makes no prediction about any asset. See the risk factors.
Sources and further reading
- Physics World: Intel releases 12 qubit silicon chip, June 2023
- eeNews Europe: Intel scalable silicon quantum processors, May 2024
Reported as of 2026-10-09. Company plans change often, so check the primary pages before relying on any detail. Nothing here is financial advice or a prediction about any stock or token. The QNT memecoin is independent of Quantinuum Ltd and of every company named on this page.
Frequently asked questions
What is Tunnel Falls?
Intel's 12 qubit silicon spin qubit research chip, released to university and national lab researchers in June 2023.
Does Intel sell a quantum computer?
Not in the sources reviewed. It has shipped research chips and published fabrication results.
What did the 2024 Nature paper show?
Per trade coverage, devices from 300 mm wafers reached 99.9 percent gate fidelity on single electron spin qubits, using chip industry processes.
Is there a newer Intel quantum chip?
I found no 2026 announcement in the sources reviewed. Check Intel's newsroom.
Is QNT connected to Intel?
No. The token is independent of Intel, Quantinuum Ltd and every company named here.
Keep reading
- Silicon Spin Qubits Explained: Quantum Computing on Chip Factory Lines
How a single electron in silicon becomes a qubit, why that fits existing chip factories, and the main challenges, in plain English. - Diraq, Intel and Silicon Quantum Computing Compared
Three different silicon spin stories: Diraq with imec on 300 mm wafers, Intel's Tunnel Falls research chip, and SQC's atom precision approach. - Quantum Chip Foundries and Materials: GlobalFoundries, SkyWater, Silicon-28 and Diamond
Who actually manufactures quantum chips, and what rare materials such as silicon-28 and quantum-grade diamond do the machines depend on? - The Biggest Innovators in Quantum Computing in 2026
A tour of the companies pushing quantum forward in 2026: IBM, Google, Quantinuum Ltd, IonQ, Microsoft, PsiQuantum, Rigetti, D-Wave, Pasqal, Xanadu, IQM and NVIDIA.
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