D-Wave Quantum's CEO, Alan Baratz, has criticized NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang's recent remarks on quantum computing, calling them "completely wrong." Huang had stated that achieving a "very useful quantum computer" would require a quantum processing unit a million times more powerful than what currently exists, and that it might take 15 to 30 years to bring such technology to market. His comments led to a significant drop in quantum computing stocks, with D-Wave's shares plummeting by 36%.
Baratz countered Huang's claims by stating that D-Wave has already commercialized quantum computing technology. He highlighted that companies like Mastercard and Japan's NTT are currently utilizing D-Wave's quantum computers to enhance their operations. Baratz emphasized that the advancements are happening "now, today," rather than decades in the future.
While acknowledging that Huang's comments might apply to gate-model quantum computers, Baratz insisted they are entirely incorrect for annealing quantum computers. D-Wave remains a prominent player in the quantum computing industry, being the only company to produce both annealing and gate-model quantum computers.
Despite a 27% sales decline in the third quarter of last year, D-Wave's stock surged by 178% in December, fueled by investor enthusiasm following Google's announcement of a groundbreaking quantum computing chip. Quantum computing is seen as a transformative force in overcoming AI processing limitations, driving interest in the field.
Baratz expressed his willingness to discuss these advancements with Huang, asserting that D-Wave's systems can tackle problems that even the fastest NVIDIA-equipped systems cannot solve.
