Foxconn chairman says the company wants to be the largest quantum computer manufacturer

Young Liu told CNBC that Foxconn aims to build quantum computers for other companies' brands, and expects at least two more years before the field is commercially viable.

Foxconn, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, wants to become the world's largest builder of quantum computers, without developing the core quantum technology itself. Chairman Young Liu laid out the ambition in an interview with CNBC's Squawk Box Asia, describing a role in which Foxconn would produce machines for the companies that design them, much as it already does for consumer electronics.

What was said

According to The Quantum Insider's account of the interview, Liu said Foxconn focuses on manufacturing and sees an opening to work with quantum computer brands, building their systems so that those businesses can pursue their own commercial success. He said Foxconn hopes to become "the largest quantum computer manufacturer in the world without owning that technology."

Liu also set expectations on timing. He said quantum computing needs at least another two years to reach commercial viability, and framed that as a challenge for the whole industry rather than one specific to Foxconn.

How Foxconn sees the technology

Liu described quantum computers as accelerators rather than general-purpose machines. In the CNBC segment, he said quantum computing will not replace CPUs or GPUs; instead, he expects it to be added alongside them to speed up certain calculations that are very hard for classical computers, with the gain potentially exponential for particular applications. The Quantum Insider describes this as a hybrid approach, in which conventional computers remain central and quantum hardware is called on where its capabilities are useful.

He was also candid about cost. The Quantum Insider reports that Liu pointed to the extreme temperature requirements of quantum hardware as an example of the expense involved, saying a single cable of modest length can cost more than $1,000 because of them.

Why it matters

Foxconn, founded by Terry Gou in 1974, grew into the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer. Quantum computers depend on specialized components whose cost, as Liu's cable example shows, can be substantial before a complete system is assembled. A manufacturer of Foxconn's scale signaling interest in building such systems for others suggests that at least some large suppliers expect quantum computers to be produced in meaningful volumes.

Liu's comments describe a strategy and an ambition. As The Quantum Insider notes, the potential speed advantages he described are his expectations for the technology, not measured results from Foxconn hardware.

What to watch

The key questions are whether Foxconn announces manufacturing agreements with specific quantum hardware companies, which qubit technologies it chooses to support, and whether its plans include producing the cryogenic and control subsystems that make up much of a machine's cost.