Intel Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan said GPUs, CPUs and quantum computers will increasingly operate together, envisioning quantum chips as a third major processor category alongside conventional computing hardware. Speaking at Splunk's .conf26 event in Denver, Tan said he remains focused on error correction, applications and identifying who will pay for quantum computing, indicating that widespread deployment is not imminent. Quantum computers use qubits (quantum bits that can represent 0 and 1 simultaneously) and may eventually address problems such as drug discovery and code-breaking, but current systems handle only tens or hundreds of qubits, while some estimates say commercialization could require more than a million. Tan said cryogenic cooling (extreme cooling for quantum hardware) could remain a constraint over the next three to five years. Intel, IBM and Microsoft are developing quantum technologies, while the U.S. government is supporting the sector as part of its competition with China.