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Quantum Matters: Where Quantum Computing Gets Real: Daily Summaries Delivered
by D-Wave
Quantum computing has a “reputation.” To many, it sounds like pure science fiction: a mythical machine that can crack every code, outpace every supercomputer, and solve the world’s biggest problems overnight. But the truth is even more exciting. The Quantum Matters podcast reveals how quantum computing is already transforming the world around us — from automotive manufacturing to retail operations. Created by D-Wave, the world’s first commercial quantum company, each episode unpacks big ideas in plain English and shows where quantum is starting to make a difference today. You’ll hear from researchers, academics, and industry leaders who are walking the talk of applying quantum solutions to their most computationally complex problems. Quantum isn’t “someday.” It’s here. It’s scaling. It’s not afraid of its critics — and it’s creating opportunities faster than most people realize. Discover how this once-mythical technology is beginning to change lives, transform industries, and rewrite the future, today.
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- Aug 11, 202626 min
Paving the Path to Fault-Tolerant Gate-Model Computing
For more than 30 years, Dr. Robert Schoelkopf has been working on one of quantum computing's biggest challenges: how to build a better qubit. His answer is the dual-rail qubit, a first-of-its-kind superconducting qubit that embeds error detection directly at the hardware level.In this episode of Quantum Matters, host Murray Thom sits down with Rob, a pioneer of gate-model quantum computing and now Chief Scientist at D-Wave. Rob traces the evolution of qubit design, from the transmon to the dual-rail, and explains why the first qubit you build isn't necessarily the one that scales, and how a design that can flag its own errors offers a faster, more efficient path to fault-tolerant gate quantum computing.Along the way, Rob shares how gate-model systems differ from annealing quantum computers, his take on quantum hype, and why fault-tolerant gate systems may make their first big impact in scientific discovery.Learn More: https://www.dwavequantum.com/solutions-and-products/systems/gate-model-quantum-computing/Glossary Cat qubit A superconducting qubit that encodes information in special resonator states designed to suppress certain types of errors. One of several qubit designs Dr. Schoelkopf helped develop. Coherence / coherence time How long a qubit maintains its fragile quantum state before noise degrades it. Longer coherence means more operations can be completed before errors accumulate. In the ice sculpture analogy, it's how long the blocks last before melting. Cooper pair box An early superconducting qubit design based on pairs of electrons (Cooper pairs) on a tiny superconducting island. A precursor to the transmon, and part of the story of Dr. Schoelkopf's early work. Dual-rail qubit (DRQ) A first-of-its-kind superconducting cavity-based qubit architecture, invented by Dr. Schoelkopf and colleagues, that embeds error detection directly in the device design. Two cavities encode a quantum bit of information in a single, shared photon. The dominant error mode, photon loss, produces an invalid state that the qubit itself can detect and flag, enabling highly efficient error correction.Entanglement A quantum phenomenon in which two or more qubits become correlated so strongly that the state of one cannot be described independently of the others; measuring or operating on one affects its partners. Entangling gates are the operations that create this connection, and they're a core building block of gate-model computation.Error correction Methods for protecting quantum information so a computation can continue reliably despite errors. Error correction requires redundancy, typically many physical qubits working together to protect each logical qubit, and this overhead is one of the biggest costs in quantum computing. Because the dual-rail qubit detects errors on its own at the hardware level, it is designed to reduce that overhead by a factor of 10. In the ice sculpture analogy, it's refreezing the blocks as you build.Error detection The dual-rail qubit's built-in ability to recognize when it has experienced an error. When the qubit's photon is lost, the result is an invalid state the hardware itself identifies and flags. Conventional qubits fail silently, and errors must be inferred indirectly by measuring many additional qubits; the dual-rail qubit identifies the error itself, at the individual qubit, as it happens. Error awareness What error detection makes possible for programmers: knowing
- Jul 28, 202632 min
How Quantum and Supercomputing Come Together
What does the next generation of computing look like when quantum and classical machines work together?On this episode of Quantum Matters, host Murray Thom talks with Professor Dr. Kristel Michielsen, Director of the Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany, about how researchers are combining high-performance computing with D-Wave's quantum annealing technology. Kristel shares how Jülich is using D-Wave systems alongside its supercomputers to explore new approaches to problems like protein folding, quantum material simulations, and hybrid quantum-classical computing algorithms.From Europe's first exascale supercomputer to the considerations of integrating quantum systems into everyday research workflows, this episode explores what the future of computing looks like when classical and quantum machines each contribute their strengths.Learn More: https://www.dwavequantum.com/ Highlights:08:04 - How Quantum Computing Could Transform Supercomputing15:16 - Building a Quantum Computing Strategy at Jülich28:27 - What HPC and AI Can Teach Quantum Computing
- Jul 14, 202634 min
Inside D-Wave's Full-Stack Quantum Computing Solutions
In this episode, we take you behind the curtain for a close look at D-Wave's full quantum computing technology stack. Host Murray Thom sits down with longtime colleague Dr. Trevor Lanting, Chief Development Officer at D-Wave, to discuss how the hardware, software, and applications all fit together.From cryogenic hardware and processors, to the Leap™ cloud platform and Ocean™ open-source tools, to the real-world applications customers are running now, Murray and Trevor give you the story behind the technology, D-Wave's culture of innovation, key milestones, and where the product roadmap is heading. Trevor breaks down D-Wave's dual-platform strategy across annealing and gate-model systems, why each has its own sweet spot, and how the lessons learned scaling annealing position D-Wave to drive the commercialization of gate-model quantum computing.Learn More: https://www.dwavequantum.com/solutions-and-products/public-sector/Highlights:4:38- Why Build Quantum Computers? 24:24- What Gives D-Wave a Head Start in Quantum?28:06- How Quantum and AI Could Work Together
- Jun 30, 202631 min
Blockchain Meets Quantum
What if a blockchain network could run on quantum computers—and use a fraction of the energy?On this episode of Quantum Matters, Postquant Labs co-founders Colton Dillion and Rick Karbach share how D-Wave's annealing quantum technology is integrated into the Quip Network, a quantum-classical blockchain network. They explain their “proof of useful work” model, where quantum and classical computers compete side by side to solve optimization problems as a way to validate transactions more efficiently. Early testing with D-Wave’s quantum processing unit suggests it can produce higher-quality solutions faster and with significantly lower energy use than comparable GPU-based approaches, while the classical compute decentralizes the network until quantum computers become more numerous.Listen in to hear how this hybrid approach works in practice and why energy efficiency is quickly becoming one of the most important challenges in the future of blockchain systems.Learn More about D-Wave: https://www.dwavequantum.com/ D-Wave blockchain paper: https://www.dwavequantum.com/blockchain/ Quip Network: https://quip.network/ Postquant Labs: https://postquant.xyz/ Highlights:09:32 – Building a Hybrid System Between Classical and Quantum15:43 – Real-World Energy and Speed Tradeoffs25:47 – The Vision: A Worldwide Quantum-Classical Computer
- Jun 16, 202634 min
Quantum Computing for Computational Advantage
What does quantum advantage actually mean? How do you prove a quantum computer can outperform the world’s most powerful supercomputers? And why is its energy efficiency arriving at such an important time for the world?In this episode of Quantum Matters, host Murray Thom sits down with Dr. Andrew King, Senior Distinguished Scientist at D-Wave, to discuss the company’s landmark peer-reviewed research demonstrating quantum computational advantage on aproblem relevant to materials discovery.Together, they unpack the result behind the headlines, including a calculation completed in minutes on a quantum processor that could take classical supercomputers nearly a million years. They explore what it took to validate that claim, why energy efficiency is becoming a critical part of the quantum computing story, and how these advances could impact materials science, blockchain, and AI.Join us for an inside look at one of the most significant milestones in quantum computing and what it could mean for the future of computation.Learn more about the Beyond Classical research:https://www.dwavequantum.com/beyond-classical/ Explore the Blockchain research: https://www.dwavequantum.com/blockchain/ Highlights: 03:41 — The Most Exciting Quantum Breakthrough in Years11:49 — Why Quantum Computing Could Revolutionize Energy Efficiency29:12 — What’s Next for Quantum Computing: New Controls and CapabilitiesShow GlossaryQuantum Phase Transition: A change in the state of a quantum system driven by quantum effects rather than changes in temperature.Programmable Quantum Magnet: A controllable quantum system designed to mimic the behavior of magnetic materials for experiments and simulations.Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP): A problem where a solution must satisfy a specified set of constraints or rules.Spin Glass: A disordered magnetic system with competing interactions that make finding its lowest-energy state difficult.Polynomial Speedup: An improvement where a quantum algorithm scales more favorably than a classical algorithm as problem size increases.Matrix Product State (MPS): A mathematical representation used to efficiently simulate certain quantum systems on classical computers.Projected Entangled Pair States (PEPS): An advanced tensor-network method used to model higher-dimensional quantum systems.Thermal Bath: The surrounding environment that exchanges heat with a physical system and can influence its behavior.Topological Phase Transition: A phase transition characterized by changes in a system’s global structure rather than conventional ordering.Order by Disorder: A phenomenon where fluctuations create an ordered state from a set of equally possible disordered configurations.Degenerate Ground States: Multiple lowest-energy states of a system that all have exactly the same energy.Hamiltonian: The mathematical description of the total energy and evolution of a physical system.Non-Ising Hamiltonia
- Jun 2, 202639 min
Missile Defense Optimization with Quantum
What role can quantum computing play in national defense? In this episode of Quantum Matters, host Murray Thom speaks with Dale Moore, president and CEO of DavidsonTechnologies, about the effort to bring quantum computing into practical defense applications.Dale details his team’s collaboration with D-Wave and Anduril applying quantum computing toair and missile defense planning, and discusses the importance of housing a D-WaveAdvantage2 system at Davidson’s facilities in Huntsville, Alabama. From advanced simulations to mission-critical decision-making, discover what quantumcomputing can do when national security is on the line.Learn More: https://www.dwavequantum.com/solutions-and-products/public-sector/Highlights include:08:24 - Quantum Breakthrough in Missile Defense (Anduril × D-Wave × Davidson)12:25 - Why Missile Defense Is a Perfect Quantum Use Case22:59 - Making Quantum Real in Defense (Huntsville Deployment & Access)
- May 19, 202631 min
Rethinking Warehouse Operations with Quantum
Modern warehouses process many thousands, sometimes millions, of items in constantly changing conditions, where each decision affects the flow of goods in the warehouse, and across the supply chain.In this episode of Quantum Matters, Murray Thom speaks with Gabriel Fernandes of the Wernher von Braun Advanced Research Center about a warehouse challenge faced by an automotive manufacturer. With warehouse capacity limits looming and the challenge of maintaining product flow, Gabriel shares how he turned to quantum-powered optimization to help rethink operations at scale.Using real operational data, Gabriel explores how products could be assigned to gravity flow racks, demonstrating in simulation a 10x reduction in product re-insertions.The result reflects a new way of thinking about coordination across modern supply chains, a practical, eye-opening look at quantum computing’s potential in action.Highlights include:6:30 - Programming a quantum computer for the first time 15:53 - Quantum Solving the Warehouse “Tetris Problem”21:00 -The 90% Cost Reduction Result
- May 5, 202624 min
Quantum + Robots For Optimized Quality Control
There’s an opportunity to improve robotic quality inspection with quantum computing technology. In this episode of Quantum Matters, host Murray Thom speaks with Dr. Eneko Osaba, Principal Researcher at Tecnalia, about applying hybrid quantum optimization to robotic quality inspection. Eneko shares how his team tackled a practical path-planning problem, optimizing how a physical robot inspects parts under real constraints. Using D-Wave’s Stride™ Hybrid Solver, they reduced solve times from hours to seconds in this case while achieving approximately 86% of the benchmark solution quality, highlighting a tradeoff industry often prefers: fast and good over slow and perfect. Listen in to explore how to identify problems suited for quantum optimization, what it takes to implement these systems in practice, and why collaboration between domain experts and quantum teams is critical.Highlights include:2:45 From Curiosity to quantum 6:29 Robot inspection at work15: 32 Quantum built with industry, not theoryLearn More: https://www.dwavequantum.com/Quantum Optimization: https://www.dwavequantum.com/solutions-and-products/quantum-optimization/quantum-optimization/Get Started with D-Wave Today: https://www.dwavequantum.com/build/getting-started/
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About Quantum Matters: Where Quantum Computing Gets Real
Quantum computing has a “reputation.” To many, it sounds like pure science fiction: a mythical machine that can crack every code, outpace every supercomputer, and solve the world’s biggest problems overnight. But the truth is even more exciting. The Quantum Matters podcast reveals how quantum computing is already transforming the world around us — from automotive manufacturing to retail operations. Created by D-Wave, the world’s first commercial quantum company, each episode unpacks big ideas in plain English and shows where quantum is starting to make a difference today. You’ll hear from researchers, academics, and industry leaders who are walking the talk of applying quantum solutions to their most computationally complex problems. Quantum isn’t “someday.” It’s here. It’s scaling. It’s not afraid of its critics — and it’s creating opportunities faster than most people realize. Discover how this once-mythical technology is beginning to change lives, transform industries, and rewrite the future, today.
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