SkyWater and D-Wave sign multi-year deal to keep building D-Wave's quantum chips

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SkyWater Technology and D-Wave have signed a multi-year agreement that keeps SkyWater as the manufacturing partner for D-Wave's superconducting quantum chips. The Quantum Insider's report is based on the companies' press release. The two have worked together for more than a decade at SkyWater's fab in Minnesota, which the article describes as the first quantum foundry in the United States

SkyWater has made several generations of D-Wave processors, including the Advantage2 chips. An Advantage2 system built there was used in the 2025 Science paper that reported beyond classical performance on a quantum simulation problem. That gives the partnership a strong track record to build on

The relationship also runs the other way. Earlier this year, D-Wave's annealing technology was used to optimise maintenance scheduling at SkyWater's own fab, cutting lot delays by up to 30 percent. A follow on proof of concept will add technician and resource constraints to the model. It is a nice example of a quantum company using its product to improve the factory that makes it

Financial terms and the length of the contract were not disclosed. The release says the deal protects D-Wave's intellectual property, which matters for an interesting reason. SkyWater is now owned by IonQ, one of D-Wave's competitors, following the acquisition we covered earlier this year

Specialised fabrication is one of the quiet foundations of the quantum industry. Few foundries can make superconducting circuits with the quality these machines need. A long term agreement gives D-Wave supply stability, and it shows SkyWater intends to keep serving customers beyond its new parent company

Does it seem odd for D-Wave to rely on a fab owned by a rival? And how important are dedicated quantum foundries for the industry as a whole?

SkyWater and D-Wave Sign Multi-Year Quantum Manufacturing Agreementthequantuminsider.com