D-Wave Completes Prototype of Next-Gen Quantum Processor

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Today D-Wave Systems announced that the company has completed fabrication and testing of a working prototype next-generation processor, and the installation of a D-Wave 2000Q system for a customer. The prototype processor uses an advanced new architecture that will be the basis for D-Wave’s next-generation quantum processor. The D-Wave 2000Q system, the fourth generation of commercial products delivered by D-Wave, was installed at the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab run by Google, NASA, and Universities Space Research Association.

The D-Wave 2000Q system is by far the most advanced quantum computer available today, and the only commercially available quantum device, on which customers can develop practical applications. The next generation processor will extend D-Wave’s considerable leadership in the development and manufacturing of quantum computing systems. The new prototype demonstrates our new architecture, with more densely-connected qubits that can represent more complex problems more efficiently. The design and fabrication of this prototype represent major advances in our capability to build the world’s most complex superconducting circuits, and we did it ahead of schedule,” said D-Wave CEO Vern Brownell. “We will use this funding to continue to deliver systems and software that provide real-world quantum computing today, and to push our technology forward.”

The achievement of this working prototype marks a critical breakthrough in the development of commercial quantum processors. D-Wave demonstrated functionality of all devices in the processor, providing key validation for all new features of the architecture including control circuitry, performance of the new qubit connectivity, and qubit properties. These results depended on significant advances in processor fabrication, none of which have ever before been available in superconductor fabrication at production scale.

D-Wave also announced that it has met the key conditions to lock in new funding of $20 million. In April 2017, D-Wave closed on the first $30 million tranche of convertible notes and received a conditional commitment from Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) for an additional $20 million.The new capital will bring D-Wave’s total funding to approximately USD220 million, and enable D-Wave to bring its next-generation quantum computing system to market.

In this video from SC17 in Denver, Bo Ewald from D-Wave Systems hosts a Quantum Computing Seminar

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