Quantum computing firm D-Wave claims it has demonstrated quantum supremacy on a “useful, real-world problem.”
The company said the achievement was made using D-Wave’s Advantage2 prototype annealing quantum computer.
Quantum supremacy is when a quantum computer can carry out calculations that classical computers practically cannot.
However, other scientists have cast doubt on D-Wave's claims, saying the problem can be solved using classical hardware.
In a statement, the company said a team of scientists led by D-Wave performed magnetic materials simulation problems with known applications to business and science on both an Advantage2 prototype and the Frontier supercomputer at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.
Frontier is the world's former most powerful supercomputer. The 1.353 exaflops system dropped to second place in the most recent edition of the Top500, having been displaced by El Capitan, the 1.742 exaflops supercomputer housed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
When it came to performing “the most complex simulation,” D-Wave said its quantum computer was able to do so in minutes, and with a “level of accuracy that would take nearly one million years using the supercomputer,” and would require more than the world’s annual electricity consumption.
D-Wave has published the results of this test in a peer-reviewed paper, titled “Beyond-Classical Computation in Quantum Simulation” in the journal Science.
“This is a remarkable day for quantum computing. Our demonstration of quantum computational supremacy on a useful problem is an industry first. All other claims of quantum systems outperforming classical computers have been disputed or involved random number generation of no practical value,” said Dr. Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave.
“Our achievement shows, without question, that D-Wave’s annealing quantum computers are now capable of solving useful problems beyond the reach of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. We are thrilled that D-Wave customers can use this technology today to realize tangible value from annealing quantum computers.”
While the company is loudly trumpeting its achievement, other scientists are skeptical. Speaking to the New Scientist, Dries Sels of New York University said he and his colleagues performed similar calculations on a normal laptop in just two hours. They used a field of mathematics called tensor networks, which apparently reduce the amount of data needed for a simulation, meaning the amount of compute power required is also much lower.
Meanwhile, a separate research team led by Linda Mauron and Giuseppe Carleo at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, say they have also solved the problem without the need for a quantum machine.
Founded in 1999, Vancouver-based D-Wave describes itself as a ‘full-stack’ quantum computing company.
It launched its 5,000 qubit Advantage system in 2020, which it claims is “the most powerful and connected quantum computer in the world,” and in January 2025, announced it had made its first commercial sale of its Advantage system.
Google previously claimed quantum supremacy in 2019, saying its system managed to pull off a specific workload that would have taken 10,000 years on the Summit supercomputer. This was then proved incorrect when the workload was better optimized for conventional systems.
