Chips and quantum

Part of AI and computing. Models, chips, security and software: what is changing in the work a computer engineer will do.

5 stories so far

All programmes 5BCE Civil 0BCT Computer 5BEI Electronics 5

AI & computing11 Oct, 3:08 pm · 5 min read

IBM and three others enter DARPA's toughest quantum test stage

DARPA moved IBM, IonQ, Atom Computing and Diraq into Stage C of its benchmarking programme, where independent teams test real hardware.

For you: Quantum computing headlines often mix lab physics with marketing. A government programme that independently tests hardware against a clear goal gives students a better way to judge progress than company press releases. The companies named use very different technologies: superconducting circuits, trapped ions, neutral atoms and silicon spin qubits. That matters for electronics students, because each path needs different control electronics, cryogenics and microwave engineering, which are areas where BEI skills apply.

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AI & computing11 Oct, 2:56 pm · 5 min read

First 2nm phone chips from Qualcomm, Apple and MediaTek focus on AI

September launches put TSMC's 2nm nanosheet process into phones, with chips that can run AI models of up to 30 billion parameters locally.

For you: This is the VLSI and computer architecture syllabus in a product: a new transistor structure, more cores, wider memory paths and dedicated neural processors. Running large AI models on a phone instead of a cloud server changes app design, because developers must fit models into limited memory and power. That makes model compression and quantisation useful skills. For BEI students, it shows why semiconductor process knowledge matters even for those who never work in a fab.

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AI & computing11 Oct, 2:08 pm · 5 min read

IonQ says one ordinary CPU can decode quantum errors in real time

IonQ reported a quantum error-correction decoder that runs on a single standard processor, tested in simulation at 408 logical qubits.

For you: Quantum computing is often described as pure physics, but this result is about classical software: fast graph algorithms, careful memory use and real-time scheduling on a normal processor. Those are skills BCT students already learn in data structures and operating systems. It shows one way computer engineers can enter the quantum field without a physics PhD. Treat the company's claims with care, since the numbers come from simulation and a press release.

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AI & computing11 Oct, 1:43 pm · 5 min read

India's chip mission grows to $13.5 billion as plants start output

At SEMICON India on 17 September, India said three of its 12 approved chip projects are in commercial production and set a larger second phase.

For you: India is building a chip industry next door, and it needs designers, test engineers and packaging specialists, not only fab operators. For BEI students, digital design, Verilog, embedded systems and VLSI electives are the skills that connect to this demand. Many Nepali engineers already work in Indian technology firms, so the growth of chip design and testing centres there may open more roles in the region. Commercial production so far is mostly packaging, and India's first large wafer fab is still behind schedule.

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AI & computing11 Oct, 1:01 pm · 6 min read

Intel details a 256-core Xeon and an inference GPU at Hot Chips

At Hot Chips 2026 Intel described Diamond Rapids, a 256-core Xeon on its 18A-P process, and Crescent Island, an air-cooled GPU for AI inference.

For you: These designs show where computer architecture is going: many small chiplets joined by standard links, 3D stacking of cache, and separate accelerators for AI. Those ideas appear in BEI and BCT courses on microprocessors and computer organisation. The choice of cheaper LPDDR memory and air cooling for an inference card is a cost and power trade-off, the kind of engineering judgement that matters in places like Nepal where data-centre power and cooling are expensive.

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