Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said Monday that cheaper Chinese AI models like DeepSeek are seeing "very fast" adoption and predicted quantum computing could go mainstream within three to five years. K
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said Monday that cheaper Chinese AI models like DeepSeek are seeing "very fast" adoption and predicted quantum computing could go mainstream within three to five years.
Key Points:
- Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said Chinese AI models such as DeepSeek, Kimi and GLM offer "good enough" performance at lower token costs.
- Tan called open source the best way to drive efficiency and said markets will decide which models suit each use case.
- He predicted quantum computing could reach the mainstream within three to five years, with software playing a role.
Speaking at a panel organized by Singapore lender DBS, Tan said the token costs of Chinese frontier AI models have been lower. He listed DeepSeek, Kimi and GLM as examples, calling their performance "good enough."
Tokens are the small chunks of text that AI models read and write, and developers typically pay for model access based on how many tokens they use.
Tan described himself as "a strong believer of open source," saying it is the best way to drive efficiency. He added that markets will decide which models best serve different use cases.
He also predicted that quantum computing could become mainstream in the next three to five years, saying software will help drive efficient use of some of the infrastructure it will require.
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The forecast follows comments Tan made in September at Splunk's .conf26 conference in Denver, where he said quantum machines will run alongside CPUs and GPUs in certain application areas. Asked when the technology would become practical, he said he is focusing on error correction and applications. He also thinks about who is going to pay for it.
At the same event, Tan said cryogenic infrastructure, the cooling equipment that keeps qubits near absolute zero, could remain an important constraint over the next three to five years. That is the same window he gave in Singapore for quantum to go mainstream.
Monday's forecast is the latest in a string of quantum remarks from Tan. In a recent podcast interview, he said Intel has about 70 people working on quantum computing and is building its own technology based on silicon spin qubits. He called quantum part of Intel's strategic direction for the next five to 10 years, adding that it could prove "ten times bigger than AI."
In May, Tan joined the board of PsiQuantum, a photonic quantum computing firm valued at $7 billion. His venture firm, A&E Investments, backed PsiQuantum in its 2019 Series C round, and he is also an investor in Israeli quantum software startup Classiq.
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