Quantum Computing News: D-Wave (QBTS) Is No Longer a One-Trick Quantum Stock

Welcome to Thursday's update on quantum computing. As the market moves deeper into 2026, the focus continues to shift from lab work toward funding flows, public market strategy, and real business planning. As always, this update highlights clear developments that matter for investors watching the quantum space.Claim 50% Off TipRanks PremiumUnlock hedge fund-level data and powerful investing tools for smarter, sharper decisions Stay ahead of the market with the latest news and analysis and maximize your portfolio's potential Let's begin. China Funding Signals Commercial Push First, SpinQ Technology completed a Series C funding round worth hundreds of millions of yuan. At current rates, that range is about $14 million to $40 million or more. The company said the funds will support core technology work, deeper industry ties, and faster global reach. Founder Xiang Jinggen said the capital will help drive industrial growth and expand real use cases. The round shows that China-based quantum firms are still attracting strong backing as they move from research toward delivery. D-Wave Expands into Gate Model Systems Next, D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) completed its acquisition of Quantum Circuits Inc. This move adds gate model quantum systems to D-Wave's existing annealing platform. Chief Executive Alan Baratz said the deal helps address a wider range of customer problems. Quantum Circuits brings error-corrected superconducting qubits that aim to speed up. As a result, D-Wave is now the only public company offering two quantum approaches under one roof. IBM Flags Enterprise Readiness Gap Meanwhile, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) released new research on enterprise planning. The firm found that 59% of executives expect quantum-enabled AI to reshape their industry by 2030. However, only 27% expect their firms to use quantum systems by then. IBM called this a planning gap rather than a timing issue. The study argues that quantum will enter workflows slowly as a support tool for AI and classical systems. Energy Limits Bring Hardware Choices Into Focus At the same time, the World Economic Forum discussed how energy use is becoming a key factor in computing strategy. Classical systems face physical limits tied to heat and power. Quantum systems may reduce energy use for certain tasks if hardware overhead stays low. Superconducting systems often draw about 25 kilowatts due to cooling needs. In contrast, neutral-atom systems can run below 10 kilowatts. These gaps matter as data center power demand rises toward 2030. Error Correction Breakthrough Cuts Hardware Needs Finally, Alice and Bob, a French-based quantum firm, reported progress in quantum error correction using new Elevator Codes. The firm said the method cut logical error rates by 10,000 times while requiring only about three times as many qubits. The design builds on cat qubits that already resist some errors by design. Researcher Diego Ruiz said the advance could allow complex simulation work sooner than expected. This result highlights how software design can ease pressure on hardware scale. We used TipRanks' Comparison Tool to line up all the stocks appearing in the piece alongside quantum computing stocks. It's a quick way to see how they stack up and where the field could be heading.