QBTS Quantum computing surpasses traditional supercomputing, with a computation speed leading by millions of years! The stock price once surged nearly 19%

On Wednesday Eastern Time, shares of quantum computing concept stock D-Wave Quantum rose nearly 18.8% at one point. Over the past two trading days, the stock has surged 25%.

Previously, the company announced that its annealing quantum computer outperformed one of the world's most powerful traditional supercomputers in solving complex magnetic material simulation problems, marking a significant breakthrough for quantum computing in real-world applications.

Driven by D-Wave's groundbreaking research, quantum computing concept stocks collectively strengthened. IonQ rose 12% at one point, Rigetti Computing rose 5.8%, Quantum Computing rose 10%, SkyWater Technology rose 4.8%, and Arqit Quantum rose 8%.

Research Breakthrough: Completing a Supercomputer Task in Under 20 Minutes That Would Take Millions of Years

D-Wave's latest research findings have been peer-reviewed and officially published in the journal Science. The research indicates that D-Wave has successfully simulated the properties of magnetic materials using its quantum computer.

According to D-Wave, its quantum computer completed the magnetic material simulation in less than 20 minutes, while using the most advanced supercomputer at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the U.S. for the same task would take nearly a million years and consume more electricity than the total global consumption in a year.

This breakthrough is significant for the production of magnetic materials, which are widely used in sensors, smartphones, motors, and medical imaging devices. D-Wave's Senior Chief Scientist Andrew King stated:

"This research demonstrates that D-Wave's quantum computer can reliably solve quantum dynamics problems, which is expected to drive the discovery of new materials."

The Advantage2 prototype, which achieved this computational advantage, is now accessible to customers through D-Wave's Leap real-time quantum cloud service. Businesses and research institutions can now directly utilize D-Wave's quantum computing capabilities for practical applications in materials science, physical simulations, and more.

D-Wave has garnered attention for its "quantum annealing" computing model, which focuses on large-scale optimization problems, such as determining vehicle routing. The company stated that clients like Japan's NTT Docomo and Canada's Pattison Food Group are already using its quantum optimization technology.

D-Wave's "Quantum Supremacy" Claims Questioned, Experts Say Traditional Computers Remain Comparable

The paper has sparked heated discussions in the academic community and has faced skepticism from some scientists. According to Miles Stoudenmire, a research scientist at the Simons Foundation Flatiron Institute's Quantum Physics Computing Center, D-Wave's research has issues because traditional computers can also achieve comparable simulation resultsStoudenmire and his team published a paper stating that D-Wave's research was valid at a specific point in time, but the traditional computing methods tested were limited to the best solutions available at the time of the paper's initial release last year. Since then, scientists have discovered new methods that demonstrate traditional computers are not as far behind in material simulation as D-Wave claimed.

Stoudenmire said, "What we mean is that this issue did not really defeat traditional computers at a certain point in time; let's try again."

In response to this challenge, D-Wave's Chief Development Officer Trevor Lanting stated that the Flatiron team did not fully simulate the lattice geometries, scales, and simulation depths involved in D-Wave's paper. He said, "We believe that traditional computers cannot fully replicate all the research results we have achieved."

Moreover, the term "quantum supremacy" used by D-Wave is also controversial. Heather West, a quantum computing analyst at International Data Corporation (IDC), pointed out that the quantum computing field has recently leaned more towards using "quantum advantage" or "quantum practicality," meaning that quantum computers can solve a business or scientific problem faster, more accurately, and at a lower cost than traditional computers.

However, D-Wave still insists that its research results demonstrate "quantum supremacy." D-Wave Senior Scientist Andrew King stated, "We solved an important problem that is completely unsolvable by the most advanced traditional computing methods, which is precisely why we call it 'quantum supremacy.'"