D-Wave CEO Disagrees with Nvidia's Jensen Huang on Quantum Computing

D-Wave Quantum's CEO, Alan Baratz, has responded strongly to comments made by Nvidia's chief executive, Jensen Huang, regarding the future of quantum computing. Baratz stated that Huang was "dead wrong" after Huang's remarks rattled the stock market.

During a recent analysts call, Huang discussed Nvidia's approach to quantum computing. He mentioned that for effective quantum computers, there would need to be one million times more quantum processing units, known as qubits, than what is currently available. Huang suggested that it might take 15 to 30 years to bring effective quantum computers to market.

These comments led to a significant drop in the stock prices of companies in the quantum computing sector, with D-Wave’s shares plummeting 36% the following day.

Baratz defended D-Wave’s progress in quantum technology, highlighting that the company is already in commercial operations today, stating, "We at D-Wave are commercial today." He pointed out that major companies, such as Mastercard and Japan's NTT Docomo, are currently using D-Wave's quantum systems to enhance their business processes.

The D-Wave CEO asserted, "Not 30 years from now, not 20 years from now, not 15 years from now, but right now today," emphasizing the immediate utility of their quantum technology.

Despite the stock drop, D-Wave's share price has increased around 600% over the past year, reflecting a market capitalization of $1.6 billion. However, the company still reports modest revenues, with a drop of 27% in sales during the latest quarter, bringing it down to $1.9 million from $2.6 million a year earlier.

Quantum computing is viewed as a potential solution for various complex problems that traditional computers struggle with, such as breaking encryption, generating random numbers, and performing large-scale simulations. While D-Wave engages with quantum technology, industry giants like Nvidia, Microsoft, and IBM are also actively exploring this field.

Following recent breakthroughs announced by Google in their quantum research, interest from investors in quantum computing has grown. Google revealed that they have developed a 100-qubit chip, which is viewed as an important step towards creating a quantum system with 1 million qubits.

Despite the recent decline, other quantum companies like Rigetti Computing also experienced significant stock fluctuations, reflecting the volatile nature of this emerging market. D-Wave's stock previously surged by 178% in December after a strong month in November.

Baratz noted that while one form of quantum computing known as gate-based quantum computing may take years to mature, D-Wave's approach utilizing quantum annealing is ready for use now. He remarked, "Huang’s comments may not be totally off-base for gate model quantum computers, well, they are 100% off base for annealing quantum computers."

While Nvidia has chosen not to comment on this ongoing debate, Baratz expressed openness to discussing quantum computing with Huang, stating, "I’ll be happy to meet with Jensen anytime, anyplace, to help fill in these gaps for him."

Nvidia, D-Wave, Quantum