- D-Wave has shown quantum computational supremacy on a useful, real-world problem, a first in the industry, highlighting the potential of quantum computing for materials discovery and complex simulations beyond classical computational limits.
- A peer-reviewed paper published in Science validates that D-Wave’s annealing quantum computer solved a magnetic materials simulation problem that is beyond the capabilities of classical supercomputers.
- The simulation, which took minutes to solve on D-Wave’s system, would require nearly one million years and more electricity than the world’s annual consumption on a GPU-based supercomputer.
- The Advantage2 annealing quantum computer prototype was used to achieve this milestone and is available for commercial use.
D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) (“D-Wave”), a leader in quantum computing systems, software, and services, has confirmed a major milestone in quantum computing, demonstrating quantum computational supremacy on a practical, real-world problem. A newly published, peer-reviewed paper in Science validates that D-Wave’s annealing quantum computer outperformed a state-of-the-art classical supercomputer in simulating quantum dynamics in magnetic materials. The full study, titled “Beyond-Classical Computation in Quantum Simulation,” is available at https://ibn.fm/VEsx9.
This marks the first time quantum computing has been proven to surpass classical methods on a useful, real-world problem (https://ibn.fm/H94kF). Unlike previous claims that focused on abstract mathematical problems or random number generation, D-Wave’s work addresses computational challenges in materials science, a field with implications for medical imaging, superconductors, and electronics.
An international collaboration of scientists led by D-Wave used the company’s Advantage2 annealing quantum computer prototype to simulate quantum dynamics in programmable spin glasses—complex magnetic materials that are difficult to model using conventional methods. D-Wave compared the performance against the Frontier supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, one of the most powerful classical supercomputers available.
The results were impressive — D-Wave’s system completed the most complex simulations in minutes. Performing the same computations on the classical supercomputer would have taken nearly one million years and consumed more electricity than the world’s total annual energy consumption.
According to Dr. Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave, this achievement underscores the capabilities of quantum annealing. “This is a remarkable day for quantum computing. Our demonstration of quantum computational supremacy on a useful problem is an industry first. All other claims of quantum systems outperforming classical computers have been disputed or involved random number generation of no practical value,” said Dr. Baratz. “Our achievement shows, without question, that D-Wave’s annealing quantum computers are now capable of solving useful problems beyond the reach of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. We are thrilled that D-Wave customers can use this technology today to realize tangible value from annealing quantum computers.”
The ability to accurately simulate quantum materials has broad implications. Magnetic materials play a crucial role in numerous industries, from healthcare to renewable energy. Understanding their behavior through quantum simulations could lead to breakthroughs in designing more efficient electronic components, optimizing medical imaging technologies, and improving energy storage solutions.
According to Dr. Andrew King, senior distinguished scientist at D-Wave, this research proves that D-Wave’s quantum computers can reliably solve complex materials simulation problems that could lead to discovery of new materials. “Through D-Wave’s technology, we can create and manipulate programmable quantum matter in ways that were impossible even a few years ago.”
“This is a significant milestone made possible through over 25 years of research and hardware development at D-Wave, two years of collaboration across 11 institutions worldwide, and more than 100,000 GPU and CPU hours of simulation on one of the world’s fastest supercomputers as well as computing clusters in collaborating institutions,” said Dr. Mohammad Amin, chief scientist at D-Wave. “Besides realizing Richard Feynman’s vision of simulating nature on a quantum computer, this research could open new frontiers for scientific discovery and quantum application development.”
The Advantage2 System
The study builds on earlier research published in Nature Physics (2022) and Nature (2023), which demonstrated that quantum annealing provides a computational speedup for optimization problems. These findings led to the development of Advantage2’s fast anneal feature, which played a crucial role in this latest breakthrough. D-Wave also continues to develop and advance its quantum hardware, with a current Advantage2 prototype quantum computer that is four times larger than the prototype used in this study.
D-Wave offers customers immediate access to the Advantage2 prototype quantum computer through D-Wave’s Leap™ quantum cloud service, allowing businesses and researchers to explore its capabilities today. The prototype provides substantial performance improvements from previous-generation AdvantageTM systems, including increased qubit coherence, connectivity, and energy scale, which enables higher-quality solutions to larger, more complex problems.
Industry Response
The results of the study have drawn interest from the broader scientific community. Dr. Seth Lloyd, Professor of Quantum Mechanical Engineering at MIT, commented: “Although large-scale, fully error-corrected quantum computers are years in the future, quantum annealers can probe the features of quantum systems today. In an elegant paper, the D-Wave group has used a large-scale quantum annealer to uncover patterns of entanglement in a complex quantum system that lie far beyond the reach of the most powerful classical computer.”
Other leading physicists, including Dr. Hidetoshi Nishimori (Tokyo Institute of Technology) and Dr. Juan Carrasquilla (ETH Zürich), have echoed similar sentiments, recognizing the significance of this breakthrough in advancing quantum computing research.
“This paper is not only a tour-de-force for experimental physics, it is also remarkable for the clarity of the results. The authors have addressed a problem that is regarded both as important and as very challenging to a classical computer,” said Dr. Victor Martin-Mayor, Professor of Theoretical Physics, Universidad Complutense de Madrid. “The team has shown that their quantum annealer performs better at this task than the state-of-the-art methods for classical simulation.”
About D-Wave Quantum Inc.
D-Wave is a leader in the development and delivery of quantum computing systems, software, and services. We are the world’s first commercial supplier of quantum computers, and the only company building both annealing and gate-model quantum computers. Our mission is to help customers realize the value of quantum, today. Our 5,000+ qubit Advantage quantum computers, the world’s largest, are available on-premises or via the cloud, supported by 99.9% availability and uptime. More than 100 organizations trust D-Wave with their toughest computational challenges. With over 200 million problems submitted to our Advantage and Advantage2 systems to date, our customers apply our technology to address use cases spanning optimization, artificial intelligence, research and more. Learn more about realizing the value of quantum computing today and how we’re shaping the quantum-driven industrial and societal advancements of tomorrow: www.dwavequantum.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to QBTS are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/QBTS
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