Quantum computing provider D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ: QBTS) has been awarded up to CAD $300,000 ($299,025) in funding from the National Research Council of Canada’s (NRC) Applied Quantum Computing Challenge program. Conducted at D-Wave’s Quantum Centre of Engineering Excellence in Burnaby, British Columbia, the joint project aims to develop next-generation graph-embedding algorithms and open-source software tools tailored for commercial quantum annealing systems.

The collaboration focuses on engineering advanced graph minor-embedding algorithms optimized for D-Wave’s Zephyr™ chip topology. Minor embedding is the foundational mathematical translation layer that maps complex, highly connected discrete optimization problems onto the physical qubit graph of an annealing QPU. By integrating these algorithms directly into D-Wave’s open-source Ocean™ Software Development Kit (SDK), the project aims to expand the scale, variable density, and problem complexity that can be solved natively on the company’s 4,400+ qubit Advantage2™ quantum annealing processors across commercial domains such as supply chain logistics, manufacturing scheduling, financial portfolio optimization, machine learning, and quantum chemistry simulations.

                 [ NRC & D-Wave Algorithmic Embedding Pipeline ]
                                       │
     ┌─────────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────┐
     ▼                                                                   ▼
  Open-Source Ocean™ SDK Integration                   Zephyr™ Topology Hardware Execution
  • Advanced Graph Minor-Embedding Algorithms.        • 4,400+ Qubit Advantage2™ Annealing Systems.
  • Translates High-Density Graph Problems.           • 20-Way Inter-Qubit Connectivity (Zephyr).
  • Optimizes Ising & QUBO Problem Formulations.      • Enables Larger Scale Logistics & Simulation.

Operating under Canada’s broader National Quantum Strategy, the NRC’s Applied Quantum Computing Challenge program aligns federal research infrastructure with domestic industry leaders to accelerate the commercialization of quantum applications. Led by Chief Development Officer Dr. Trevor Lanting, D-Wave’s software initiative strengthens the performance metrics of its commercial annealing hardware while complementing the company’s dual-platform expansion into fault-tolerant, superconducting gate-model architectures.

Review the press release on D-Wave Investor Relations here, explore program overview details on the NRC Applied Quantum Computing Challenge Program here, inspect federal grant records via NRC Funded Collaborative R&D Initiatives here, and examine our previous coverage of D-Wave’s Advantage2 Commercial Launch here.

August 12, 2026

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