AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has agreed to expand its use of D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) technology across its network operations following early testing that produced encouraging results.
Using D-Wave’s quantum computing platform, AT&T was able to cut the processing time for an optimization workload to less than 15 seconds from one hour.
The telecom giant now plans to deploy D-Wave’s technology for additional workloads, including outage detection, technician routing, and traffic management.
This marks a significant transition for the relationship, moving from proof-of-concept testing into a broad operational deployment across AT&T’s network infrastructure.
AT&T alone plans to invest more than $250 billion to expand its network infrastructure across the US over the next five years, building on the $145 billion it spent between 2019 and 2023.
As network complexity grows, telecom operators face mounting challenges in managing outages, traffic flows, and technician routing that conventional computing systems struggle to solve efficiently.
For D-Wave, the expanded AT&T deal provides important commercial validation for a quantum computing platform designed to solve complex optimization problems across industries.
D-Wave and IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ) both operate in the quantum computing space but pursue different commercialization strategies, with D-Wave targeting optimization problems and IonQ pursuing general-purpose, gate-based computing.
D-Wave ended the second quarter with approximately $546.2 million in cash and marketable securities, while IonQ ended the first quarter with approximately $3.1 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments.
Hedge fund interest in D-Wave increased during Q1, with ownership climbing to 26 funds from 22 in the previous quarter, signaling growing institutional attention.
Among notable investors, Citadel Investment Group boosted its stake by 48% to $11.2 million, Tudor Investment Corp raised its position by 84% to $8.3 million, and Walleye Capital increased its stake by 10,273% to $7.6 million.
IonQ also attracted more hedge fund interest in the same period, with ownership climbing to 39 funds from 28, suggesting broader institutional confidence in the sector.
Despite growing enterprise interest, both stocks carry sizable short interest, reflecting lingering skepticism about the near-term commercial outlook for quantum computing.
D-Wave’s short interest stood at 17.82% on July 15, representing 65.1 million shares with 3.7 days to cover, while IonQ’s short interest was 12.67%, equivalent to 47 million shares with 2.8 days to cover.
D-Wave’s growing enterprise relationships, improving hedge fund interest, and strong liquidity position suggest the company is making meaningful progress toward commercializing its quantum computing technology at scale.
