U.S. quantum computing firm D-Wave Quantum has struck a deal with a company called Swiss Quantum Technology (SQT) to bring D-Wave’s Advantage2 quantum computer to Europe.
The deal, which amounts to €10 million ($11.63 million), will see D-Wave’s quantum computer deployed in Italy, where it will play a role in supporting the Italians’ efforts toward large-scale digital transformation, D-Wave announced on Wednesday.
It will be part of a joint effort—collectively called the “Q-Alliance”—between D-Wave and IonQ, another American quantum computing company.
In its announcement Wednesday, D-Wave said little about what SQT does, and scant information about the company is accessible online. A rep for D-Wave described it as “a Swiss company that has been established to focus on quantum hybrid applications and research” when contacted for comment by Fast Company.
Shares of Palo Alto, California-based D-Wave rose after the announcement and were up around 1.29% in early-afternoon trading.
The stock has had an astounding run since last year, growing more than 4,235% over the last 12 months as excitement around quantum computers—seen by many experts as a transformative technology—has hit fever pitch.
“A very important day”
D-Wave’s CEO, Dr. Alan Baratz, said during a short live-streamed announcement on Wednesday morning that it’s “a very important day for Italy, for the Q-Alliance, and for D-Wave as we are now bringing one of the world’s largest quantum computers to the region.”
The announcement comes after D-Wave made waves earlier this year by announcing that it had achieved “quantum supremacy,” knocking out computations that would have taken roughly one million years to solve on a traditional, classical computer.
Accordingly, Baratz said that D-Wave’s Advantage2 is “the only quantum computer in the world that’s been able to solve an important, useful, real-world problem that could not be solved classically”—referring to the quantum supremacy announcement, which involved D-Wave’s quantum computer simulating the properties of magnetic materials.
“This is what everybody [in the quantum industry] has been aspiring to,” he said, “and that’s been achieved.”
D-Wave’s quantum computing technology is already being used in other parts of the world.
A police department in Wales, for instance, is using it to predict and analyze police force deployments. Ford Otosan, a Turkey-based auto manufacturer representing a joint effort between Ford and Koç Holding, is using D-Wave tech as a part of its assembly process. And in Japan, a cellphone carrier is using it to improve its network performance.
D-Wave announced the general availability of its Advantage2 in May of this year. News that it’s bringing one to Italy may be seen as more evidence that the quantum industry is set for a breakout—despite skepticism from some tech leaders who have contended that practical use cases are still years away.
