D-Wave Quantum has delivered its Advantage2 annealing quantum computer at Villa Saporiti in Como, Italy.
Funded by Swiss Quantum Technology, the system, referred to within the Q-Alliance ecosystem as the VoltaB1, will give European researchers, universities and businesses access to powerful, production-grade annealing quantum computing technology once installed.
The system’s arrival marks an important step in Q-Alliance’s work to turn Italy’s quantum ambitions into research capabilities, practical applications and industrial opportunity.
“Bringing Italy’s first annealing quantum computer to Como marks a historic milestone toward making quantum computing a working capability for Italian innovation and industry,” said D-Wave CEO Alan Baratz
“Italy has exceptional scientific talent and industrial strength. Together with SQT and Q-Alliance, we can give Italian teams the technology and hands-on experience to tackle complex problems, develop applications that can move into production, and build expertise in the country. That is how quantum infrastructure becomes an industrial advantage,” he added.
The system’s arrival follows a 10-million EUR agreement between D-Wave and SQT to deploy an annealing quantum computer in Europe. Under the agreement, SQT acquired 50% of the system’s capacity for five years and holds an option to purchase the full system.
Once operational, the Advantage2 system will be accessible through D-Wave’s Lea real-time quantum cloud service, which offers 99.9% availability and uptime.
“The arrival of the Advantage2 system in Lombardy puts physical infrastructure behind our vision for Italian quantum innovation,” said Thomas Darden, acting CEO of SQT.
“Our investment is intended to connect researchers and businesses with advanced computing resources, support the development of useful applications and help build the expertise that will sustain Italy’s role in the quantum economy,” said Darden.
Featuring more than 4,400 qubits, the Advantage2 system is D-Wave’s most advanced annealing quantum computer and has demonstrated the ability to outperform classical computing on a complex materials simulation problem that would have taken one of the world’s most powerful classical supercomputers nearly one million years and the world’s annual electricity consumption to solve.
Today, some of the world’s largest organizations across aviation, manufacturing, telecommunications and health care are using the Advantage2 system to address real-world problems, spanning optimization, materials simulation and artificial intelligence.
