D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ: QBTS) has delivered its Advantage2 annealing quantum computer to Lombardy, Italy, marking a significant milestone for European quantum computing access.
The system, featuring more than 4,400 qubits, has arrived at Villa Saporiti in Como for installation, funded by Swiss Quantum Technology SA.
Within the Q-Alliance ecosystem, the machine is referred to as the VoltaB1, and will serve European researchers, universities and businesses once fully operational.
The system’s formal inauguration is set for October 16 at a Q-Alliance event titled “Quantum per l’Italia,” held at the historic Villa Saporiti in Como.
The ceremony coincides with preparations for the bicentennial of Alessandro Volta’s death, with D-Wave CEO Dr. Alan Baratz scheduled to deliver remarks before representatives from research, industry and government.
“Bringing Italy’s first annealing quantum computer to Como marks a historic milestone toward making quantum computing a working capability for Italian innovation and industry,” said Dr. Baratz.
Dr. Baratz added that Italy has exceptional scientific talent and industrial strength, and that together with SQT and Q-Alliance, Italian teams can build expertise and develop applications that move into production.
The deployment follows a 10 million euro agreement between D-Wave and SQT to bring an annealing quantum computer to Europe, under which SQT acquired 50% of the system’s capacity for five years.
SQT also holds an option to purchase the full system, and once operational, the Advantage2 will be accessible through D-Wave’s Leap real-time quantum cloud service, which offers 99.9% availability and uptime.
“The arrival of the Advantage2 system in Lombardy puts physical infrastructure behind our vision for Italian quantum innovation,” said Thomas F. Darden, acting CEO of SQT.
Darden noted the investment is intended to connect researchers and businesses with advanced computing resources and help build expertise that will sustain Italy’s role in the quantum economy.
The Advantage2 system has demonstrated the ability to outperform classical computing on a complex materials simulation problem that would have taken one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers nearly one million years to solve.
D-Wave announced the Italian deployment at Digital Innovation Forum 2026, following its signing of the Volta Declaration at the World Tech Conference in Milan in June 2026.
That declaration established a framework for cooperation on quantum computing, artificial intelligence and sovereign computing infrastructure across participating nations.
Organizations across aviation, manufacturing, telecommunications and health care are already using the Advantage2 system to tackle real-world optimization, materials simulation and artificial intelligence challenges.
