D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) has unveiled its 1,200+ qubit Advantage2™ prototype, featuring a new lower-noise, multilayer superconducting integrated-circuit fabrication stack. Set to be integrated into the Leap™ quantum cloud service, the prototype exhibits a 20-fold increase in solving spin glasses, showcasing 40% higher energy scale, 20-way qubit connectivity, and doubled qubit coherence time compared to its predecessor. This performance leap is attributed to the lower-noise fabrication stack, promising improved coherence, connectivity, and energy scale. The Advantage2 prototype is positioned for diverse applications, including machine learning, with a demonstrated 90% superiority over its predecessor in constraint satisfaction problems. The company plans to make this prototype available through their Leap Cloud service shortly and even though it has only one quarter of the qubits of their 5000 qubit Advantage processsor, the company believes that this system may be even more effective at solving certain problems due to the much improved qubit coherence characteristics, the increased qubit connectivity, and their recently introduced error mitigation technology which they announced last year.
Mark W. Johnson, Senior Vice President at D-Wave, emphasized the substantial advancements, expressing confidence in the Advantage2 system’s enhanced computational power and problem-solving capabilities. The prototype marks a pivotal step, doubling quantum correlations in materials simulation and reducing errors in quantum simulation tasks. Earlier Quantum Error Mitigation (QEM) techniques have shown promising results, paving the way for enhanced performance in future Advantage2 systems and processors. The full Advantage2 system, anticipated as D-Wave’s sixth-generation quantum system, is poised to feature 7,000 qubits with a novel 20-way qubit connectivity design.
A press release announcing this prototype has been posted on the company’s website and can be accessed here.
January 23, 2024