Company Profile
Introduction
D-Wave Systems (ticker:QBTS) is widely recognized as the world’s first commercial quantum computer supplier, and it has been promoting it as such. The company has offices in Palo Alto, California, and British Columbia, Canada.
Founding of the Company
D-Wave was founded in 1999 by Haig Farris, Geordie Rose, Bob Wiens, and Alexandre Zagoskin. Geordie Rose believed that the traditional way of conceiving quantum computers was a poor design, which had led to limited breakthroughs for a long time. In 2003, he believed that another bypass method to achieve quantum computing was found, which is still partially confidential. D-Wave was founded that year.
IPO
D-Wave went public on August 5, 2022 through a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) merger with DPCM Capital. The merged company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker QBTS.
Technology
Core Technology
The biggest difficulty of quantum computers is that quantum entanglement must be used to operate quantum bits, and any external factors will interfere with this process, so a large and complex machine design must be used to isolate any interference from the external environment, resulting in a limited number of quantum bits that can exist. The computer designed by Ross’s “adiabatic quantum computing” theory can avoid most of this problem, but this quantum computing computer can only perform quantum annealing.
D-Wave is known for its computing speed. D-Wave pioneered quantum annealing technology, which is a near-term optimization-first method that has been used in practical applications.
D-Wave Technology Development Trends
D-Wave focuses on quantum hybrid workflows that combine classical solvers with quantum accelerators. D-Wave’s quantum annealing system is specifically designed to solve complex optimization problems.
Dispute
But please note: the quantum computer designed by Ross’s “adiabatic quantum computing” is fundamentally different from the quantum computer under the full definition, for example, it cannot run Shor’s algorithm.
The core methods of D-Wave’s quantum computer design are still partially confidential and not well known to the outside world.
Biggest Weakness
D-Wave’s biggest disadvantage is that it doesn’t utilize the mainstream gate-based architecture, which could hinder its development. This is because the primary customers for quantum computers are governments, particularly the US Department of Defense and Department of Energy research projects. However, the Department of Defense has stated that its research program will exclude vendors using non-gate-based architectures, putting D-Wave at a disadvantage.
In August 2025, it was reported that D-Wave might acquire vendors using non-gate-based architectures to address this weakness and improve its competitiveness.
Products and Business
Latest Products
Advantage2 is D-Wave’s sixth-generation annealing quantum computer ( quantum annealinga), equipped with more than 4,400 qubits, 20-way qubit connection capabilities, and improved energy scale and noise suppression.
Its Advantage2 processor supports more than 5,000 qubits, and the company is currently launching gate model quantum capabilities as part of its hybrid roadmap. Although annealing technology is not universal, it has been commercialized and has enterprise-level use cases in logistics, supply chain and finance.
Product Sales Situation
The company’s quantum system can be deployed locally or through the cloud, with 99.9% availability and uptime, and has processed more than 200 million problems to date. More than 100 institutions around the world use D-Wave technology.
Practical wins on logistics and scheduling problems, coupled with high-profile demonstrations of quantum supremacy, are proving to customers that D-Wave’s technology can indeed make a significant difference.
Customers and Partners
D-Wave’s Customers
Lockheed Martin became the first customer of a D-Wave system in the company’s early days. NASA and Google also jointly ordered a D-Wave Two quantum computer with 512 qubits in 2013.
From new deals such as Ford Otosan in the automotive field to Japan Tobacco in the manufacturing field, D-Wave is turning breakthroughs into revenue.
Operational Status
2024 Financial Report
- D-Wave’s total revenue for the full year of fiscal 2024 was $8.8 million, which was basically the same as $8.8 million in 2023.
- New orders signed: a record $23.9 million, up 128% from $10.5 million in 2023.
- GAAP gross profit: $5.6 million (+20%); gross margin increased from 52.8% to 63.0%. Non-GAAP gross margin: $6.4 million (+5%), gross margin increased to 72.8%.
- GAAP operating expenses: $82.8 million (down 3%) from $85.2 million in 2023, primarily due to lower stock-based compensation and service costs. Non-GAAP adjusted operating expenses: $62.4 million (up 3%)
- GAAP net loss: $143.9 million (-$0.75 per share), widening from $82.7 million (-$0.60 per share) in 2023. Primarily impacted by $68.3 million of non-cash warrant liability adjustments.
- Adjusted net loss: $75.6 million (-$0.39 per share), an improvement from $83 million (-$0.60 per share) in 2023.
Q1 2025 earnings
The company had a strong first quarter in 2025:
- Revenue soared 509% to $15 million, thanks to sales of the Advantage2 system.
- Losses narrowed year-over-year from $17.3 million to $5.4 million.
- Gross margin soared to 93.6%.
Balance sheet
- Ended 2024 with a cash balance of $178 million.
- After closing the first quarter of 2025, more than $307 million was raised through at-the-market (ATM) stock offerings, with a cash balance of more than $300 million.
Profitability
The company is expected to remain loss-making for the foreseeable future.
D-Wave’s competitors
Super-large companies
Including IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and other super-large listed companies.
Unlisted companies
Among D-Wave’s competitors, there are many unlisted companies, but the more famous and currently active companies include:
- Xanadu Quantum Technologies
- PsiQuantum
- Quantinuum, formed by the merger of Cambridge Quantum and Honeywell Quantum Solutions
- Alpine Quantum Technologies
al market performance
| Company name | Ticker | Stock price | Market Cap (US$ billion) | Stock performance in past one year | Stock performance in past five year | 2024 revenue (US$ million) and growth rate | 2024 net income (US$ million) and growth rate |
| D-Wave | QBTS | 14.18 | 46.28 | 1013.53% | 36.37% | 8.8(+0%) | (142.9)(-65.02%) |
| Ionq | IONQ | 41.81 | 118.69 | 367.15% | 279.75% | 43.1(+95.9%) | (331.6)(-110.2%) |
| Rigetti | RGTI | 12.18 | 39.31 | 923.53% | 22.91% | 10.8(-10%) | (201)(-167.64%) |
| S&P 500 | 6259.75 | 52,703 | 11.16% | 94.12% | 17,310,000(+6.25%) | 1,962,000(+11.71%) |
Numbers are as of 7/11/2025
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