QBTS Stock Soars As AT&T Expands D-Wave Quantum Partnership After 240X Speed Boost

• In an early application, AT&T said D-Wave's annealing quantum computing technology reduced the processing time for a network optimization workload by 240 times, from approximately one hour to less than 15 seconds.
• Building on those results, AT&T plans to expand D-Wave's technology to additional network operations, including outage detection and response, technician routing, network build planning and traffic management.
• The company said faster processing could enable quicker decision-making and more efficient planning.

Shares of D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS) soared more than 11% in Monday’s pre-market trade after the company announced an expanded agreement with AT&T Inc. (T) to deploy its quantum computing technology across the telecom giant's network operations.

The expanded agreement will integrate D-Wave's quantum technology into AT&T's AI-powered network operations to tackle complex optimization challenges.

QBTS was among the top trending tickers on Stocktwits at the time of writing.

QBTS Tech Cuts Processing Time By 240X

In an early application, AT&T said D-Wave's annealing quantum computing technology reduced the processing time for a network optimization workload by 240 times, from approximately one hour to less than 15 seconds, demonstrating how quantum systems could accelerate computationally intensive tasks across its network.

Building on those results, AT&T plans to expand D-Wave's technology to additional network operations, including outage detection and response, technician routing, network build planning and traffic management. The company said faster processing could enable quicker decision-making and more efficient planning as it scales its fiber and 5G networks to meet growing AI-driven demand.

AT&T also said it is evaluating D-Wave's forthcoming gate-model quantum computing systems for potential applications in quantum security and quantum communications. The expanded agreement is part of the telecom giant's broader strategy to modernize its network using artificial intelligence, automation, advanced analytics and quantum computing.

AT&T Eyes Broader Quantum Applications Of QBTS Tech

Beyond network optimization, AT&T said it is evaluating D-Wave's forthcoming gate-model quantum computing systems for potential applications in quantum security and quantum communications.

The agreement forms part of the telecom giant's broader strategy to modernize its network using artificial intelligence, automation, advanced analytics and software-defined infrastructure.

“AT&T’s work with D-Wave is a powerful example of how leading enterprises are beginning to turn to quantum computing for solving real business problems," D-Wave CEO Alan Baratz said. He added that AT&T's increasingly complex network operations make it well suited to benefit from quantum computing's ability to solve optimization challenges faster than classical systems.

Meanwhile, analysts at Benchmark initiated their coverage of D-Wave with a ‘Buy’ rating and a price target of $30, according to TheFly. The firm’s price target implies an upside potential of about 85% from Friday’s closing price.

What Retail Traders Think Of QBTS Stock

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around D-Wave trended in the ‘neutral’ territory at the time of writing.

QBTS stock is down 38% year-to-date, while T stock is down 3%. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) is up 30% over the past 12 months, while the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF (VTI) is up 17%.

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