Quantum leap: D-Wave's next quantum computing chip offers a 1,000x speed-up - TechRepublic

We may be decades from unlocking the true power of quantum computing, but D-Wave is promising to offer a taste of the future with its significantly upgraded quantum processor. When it is released early next year, the Canadian firm's new quantum chip will be able to handle some 2,000 quantum bits (qubits), roughly double the usable number found in the processor in the existing D-Wave 2X system, and be capable of solving certain problems 1,000x faster than its predecessor. D-Wave machines are multi-million dollar computers that crunch data using "quantum transistors", tiny loops of niobium cooled to close to absolute zero by liquid helium. Only a handful of such systems are in use, run by Google and the Universities Space Research Association, Lockheed Martin and Los Alamos National Laboratory. However, D-Wave also offers access to its quantum computers via a cloud service.