Beyond optimization D Wave Quantum QBTS (D-Wave) is increasingly exploring two new application areas: artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain. Details were revealed during the company’s Q1 2026 earnings call in May, where management highlighted its collaboration with Postquant Labs in the development and launch of the company’s quantum classical blockchain testnet.
Currently operational, testNet is designed to help establish a global quantum blockchain standard and evaluate how quantum computing can contribute to more secure and energy-efficient blockchains in decentralized networks.
More than 18,500 people have signed up to join TestNet. D-Wave’s Advantage2 annealing quantum computer is currently one of more than 1,600 nodes in it, with the remaining nodes made up of CPUs and GPUs. Advantage I QPUs are currently outperforming traditional nodes and capturing the majority of blocks, according to administrators. The company has begun a detailed benchmarking study with Postquant Labs to further quantify the benefits.
D-Wave also has promising research in the areas of quantum AI and machine learning. Japan-based pharmaceutical company Shionogi & Co. is running a multi-step advancement project to apply AI to drug discovery. In this project, identifying drug-like molecules with suitable activity, chemical properties, and synthetic accessibility is extremely difficult, primarily for classical machine learning methods. This work involves D-Wave’s annealing quantum computer, which is used as part of the training process for large-scale language models.
The second phase of the project increased the number of desired molecules by a factor of 10 compared to results generated using classical machine learning algorithms.
Shionogi & Co. is currently moving to the next phase with the ultimate goal of commercialization. Early results, along with new customer initiatives in quantum AI applications, position D-Wave as a key pioneer at the intersection of quantum and AI.
Latest information from QBTS peers — QUBT and RGTI
Quantum Computing Co., Ltd. QUBT or QCi’s NeuraWave photonic reservoir computing platform powers a broader strategy to advance photonic computing platforms that bring quantum-inspired optical technologies to today’s real-world applications. The platform will be ready for deployment in April and is designed to enable faster, more energy-efficient AI inference and advanced signal processing applications at the edge.
Righetti Computing Co., Ltd. RGTI recently signed a letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce to receive up to $100 million in funding over three years to accelerate research and development in superconducting quantum computing. The funding is allocated under the CHIPS Research and Development Office’s broad agency announcement under the CHIPS Act and is intended to strengthen U.S. leadership in emerging technologies, including quantum computing.
