D-Wave will build universal quantum computer, just like IBM and Google
D-Wave will not only focus on quantum annealing for faster computing than traditional computing, but also on universal quantum computers with quantum gates. This puts the company in competition with IBM and Google, among others.
D-Wave describes in its roadmap that the development of a universal quantum computer will take place in different phases. First, the company wants to develop a scalable qubit with gates that is easy to control. In doing so, the company uses its experience gained with qubits for quantum annealing.
Next, D-Wave plans to develop a system with sixty qubits and an error-correction protocol for a single logical qubit. This is followed by a system with a thousand qubits after a single die, which is configurable as a system for four logical qubits with error correction. This is the prelude to a general-purpose quantum processing unit with fully functional gates and modules for memory registers, among other things.
D-Wave introduced its Advantage system with more than 5,000 qubits last year. However, this computational system is based on annealing and thus a non-universal quantum system. These can handle computations for specific optimization problems faster than supercomputers based on classical computing. D-Wave continues to focus on this as well. For example, the Advantage quantum processing unit will be updated to a configuration with more than seven thousand qubits with a changed topology.
A general-purpose quantum computer with universal gates is much broader and can be used for more algorithms, if these are sufficiently developed. IBM, Google and Rigetti, among others, are working on these types of systems with qubits based on superconductivity. D-Wave wants to combine the advantages of both systems in a single platform. The company mentions as an example the discovery of new medicines with a universal quantum computer, where the annealing system can be used to optimize patient studies. D-Wave is also thinking of finding metamaterials with a gate model system, in which the annealer can count on improving production.