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Gate-model programD-Wave Quantum—Advantage2D-Wave Quantum—Gate-model programD-Wave Quantum—

Gate-model program

by D-Wave QuantumUSCA

ProtoStage 2 of 5

Integrating Quantum Circuits' dual-rail tech. First system planned for 2026.

Updated 8 Sep 2026Checked 25 Sep0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Initial dual-rail gate-model system generally available
  1. Initial dual-rail gate-model system generally availableTarget 2026Current milestone.

Most important updates

  • 8 Sep 2026
  • 7 Jan 2026

Upcoming

  1. 2026Initial dual-rail gate-model system generally available (next)
  2. 28 Oct 2026Qubits Asia 2026 user conference, Seoul

Current obstacles

  • New modality integrationMerging a gate-model stack and its teams into an annealing company is an execution risk.

Physics limits

  • Each qubit costs two cavities and a detectorDual-rail encoding turns photon loss into a detectable erasure, but every qubit needs two cavities plus checks, and the remaining undetected errors still need a full error-correcting code.
  • Still needs millikelvin coolingLike all superconducting qubits, the cavities work only near 10 mK, where a dilution fridge has microwatts of cooling for all wiring and electronics.

How it works

3 parts
An open dilution refrigerator at UCL, not D-Wave's: each shelf is colder down to 0.03 K, the cooling D-Wave's gate-model qubits share with its annealers
An open dilution refrigerator at UCL, not D-Wave's: each shelf is colder down to 0.03 K, the cooling D-Wave's gate-model qubits share with its annealersPhoto: UCL Mathematical and Physical Sciences · CC BY 2.0 (opens commons.wikimedia.org)
Dual-rail

One photon, two cavities

A qubit is a single microwave photon in one of two superconducting cavities; which cavity holds it encodes 0 or 1.

Erasure

Errors that flag themselves

The main error, losing the photon, leaves both cavities empty, which can be detected. Errors with a known location are much cheaper to correct.

Platform

Shared with the annealers

D-Wave plans to use its cryogenic and control technology for both machines and offer them on one cloud service.

Update log

2 updates

Tue 8 Sep

  • Major: PressFunding

Wed 7 Jan

  • Major: PressOther

About D-Wave Quantum

The team behind Gate-model program

D-Wave Quantum

Quantum annealers, Advantage2, gate-model

Founded in 1999, D-Wave sold the first commercial quantum computers: annealers that solve optimisation problems. Advantage2 became generally available in 2025. In January 2026 it bought Quantum Circuits to add error-corrected gate-model machines.

  • Advantage2 (May 2025) has over 4,400 qubits, each linked to 20 others.
  • Published a beyond-classical simulation of magnetic materials in Science (March 2025).
  • Bought Quantum Circuits Inc. for $550M, closing in January 2026.

dwavequantum.com (opens dwavequantum.com)Company profile →

Founded
199927 yrs
Headquarters
United StatesCanada
Status
Public
Listed
QBTS (opens google.com)NYSE
Valuation
public
Works in
QuantumQuantum annealing
Coverage
2 programs · 5 updateslatest 8 Sep 2026checked 25 Sep
People
Alan Baratz (opens dwavequantum.com)CEO
Primer