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Alan Baratz: Navigating the Quantum Frontier From Annealing to Advantage| Quantum 100

  • Writer: Gokul Rangarajan
    Gokul Rangarajan
  • Sep 18
  • 7 min read

How the CEO of D-Wave is steering quantum computing toward enterprise impact, commercial milestones, and technology breakthroughs


At Pitchworks, our Quantum100 initiative is more than a directory it’s a living map of the people and ideas accelerating the quantum revolution. Through deep-dive features, we highlight leaders whose vision is shaping the enterprise adoption of quantum technologies. We’ve already explored the pioneering role of Dr. Jay Gambetta in superconducting quantum computing and the transformative leadership of Peter Chapman at IonQ. Building on that journey, this blog turns the spotlight toward another figure whose impact has redefined the pace and perception of quantum progress Hartmut Neven, the architect behind Google’s Quantum AI Lab and one of the most influential forces in bringing quantum from theory into practice. I our last blog we spoke about Hartmut Naven. In this blog, we examine Alan Baratz, his paths, strategies, milestones, and how his leadership is helping to turn quantum from promise into practice. We compare their approaches, highlight achievements, assess challenges, and explore what lies ahead for quantum in industry, science, and society. We pull together recent interviews, financial reports, product announcements, news and critiques, to sketch Baratz’s vision, metrics, challenges, and how he is aligning D-Wave’s technology and business roadmap with enterprise needs for optimization, AI, energy efficiency, materials science, logistics, and more.

Alan Baratz, EVP, R&D & Chief Product Officer, D-Wave Systems, speaking at FullSTK Stage during day one of Collision 2019 at Enercare Center in Toronto, Canada. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Collision via Sportsfile, 21 May 2019. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Alan Baratz, EVP, R&D & Chief Product Officer, D-Wave Systems, speaking at FullSTK Stage during day one of Collision 2019 at Enercare Center in Toronto, Canada. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Collision via Sportsfile, 21 May 2019. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Alan Baratz, President and CEO of D-Wave Quantum Inc., stands at a key inflection point in quantum computing history. Under his leadership, D-Wave is pushing quantum annealing, hybrid quantum-classical computing, coherence improvement, noise reduction, and large-scale qubit connectivity, to deliver real-world value. With recent product launches like Advantage2, strong financial metrics, and controversial but bold claims of quantum supremacy, Baratz’s strategy is to make quantum not just a future promise, but a current offering.


Early Design & Leadership Philosophy

While much of the earlier biographical material (Sun Microsystems, JavaSoft, roles in platform scaling) has already been established, what recent interviews reveal is Baratz’s consistent emphasis on commercial readiness, applications, and product performance rather than purely theoretical or experimental claims.

  • Baratz has repeatedly said that annealing quantum computing is not just a niche or curiosity but a critical accelerant for optimization problems in enterprises. Business Wire+3D-Wave Investor Relations+3AiThority+3

  • In an AiThority interview (Dec 2023), he discussed how quantum computing can integrate with AI/ML pipelines, how developers need toolkits, and how hybrid solvers are essential. AiThority

Recent Product & Technical Milestones

Advantage2: Sixth-Generation Annealing System

  • In May 2025, D-Wave announced the general availability of its Advantage2 quantum computer—the sixth-generation annealing system. It has 4,400+ superconducting qubits. Business Wire

  • Key technical improvements include:

    • Increased qubit connectivity using the Zephyr™ topology (20-way connections) to allow embedding more complex problem graphs. Business Wire

    • Higher energy scale, lower noise (75% noise reduction vs previous generation), and greater coherence (roughly double) to improve solution quality and reduce time to solution. Business Wire

    • Energy-efficient operation: despite these advances, the system draws approximately 12.5 kilowatts, which is comparable to previous generation, showing progress in energy scaling. Business Wire

Quantum AI & Hybrid Tools

  • Alongside Advantage2’s deployment, Baratz has overseen the release of a quantum AI toolkit—open-source tools to help developers integrate quantum processors with machine learning workflows. D-Wave Investor Relations+1

  • D-Wave introduced demo(s), such as generating simple images via quantum workflows, showing proof-of-concepts for generative AI, and experimenting with quantum-accelerated optimization in real use cases. D-Wave Investor Relations+1

Financials, Business Metrics & Customers

Strong Revenue Growth, Cash, but Still Losing

Customers & Contracts

  • New and renewed engagements include large global firms such as E.ON, GE Vernova, Nikon, NTT Data, NTT DOCOMO, Sharp, and research/academic institutions like the University of Oxford. D-Wave Investor Relations+1

  • A memorandum of understanding was signed for acquiring an on-premises system in South Korea; physical assembly of systems like the one at Davidson Technologies is underway. D-Wave Investor Relations

Quantum Supremacy, Criticisms & Defense

  • Baratz has made bold claims: that D-Wave’s Advantage2 system achieved quantum supremacy (or computational advantage) by solving a complex materials simulation problem that would take classical supercomputers extremely long amounts of time. D-Wave Investor Relations+2Business Wire+2

  • Critics (from classical algorithm / computational physics groups like Flatiron Institute, EPFL) have argued that for certain spin models or smaller systems classical methods (belief propagation, time-dependent variational Monte Carlo) can meet or beat some of D-Wave’s error rates. The Quantum Insider

  • Baratz’s response: he emphasizes that the critiques address only a subset of the problems D-Wave addressed; that D-Wave’s experiments covered more complex lattice geometries and larger problem scales, conditions that classical approaches have not matched across the same breadth. “Let me be clear … we have shown quantum supremacy on complex materials simulation problems. This is a first for the industry.” The Quantum Insider

Quotes & Insights

  • On system costs and sales cycles:

    “These (system sales) are long lead time sales cycles because of the fact that systems are quite pricey, anywhere from $20-$40 million for a system.” D-Wave Investor Relations

  • On what Advantage2 accomplished:

    “Today marks a significant milestone … as we bring to market our sixth-generation quantum computer … an engineering marvel … helping customers realize value from quantum computing right now …” Business Wire

  • On criticisms of their supremacy claim:

    “Other physicists’ papers published this week do not come close to achieving what we accomplished on the D-Wave Advantage2 quantum computer … We demonstrated deeper and larger simulations on a greater variety of lattices than what anyone else has shown.” The Quantum Insider

  • On investing in quantum and product deliverables vs financials:

    “People who are investing in quantum stocks are investing in the promise … They know that it’s going to take time to get there, which is why the stock trades more on product deliverables than it does on financial metrics.” Barron's

Challenges & Critiques

  • Profitability vs Spending: Even though revenue has grown (42% YoY in Q2 2025), the net loss is large, partly due to non-cash items (warrant liability remeasurement), and rising OPEX (R&D, fabrication, personnel). D-Wave Investor Relations+1

  • Claims under scrutiny: The quantum supremacy claim is under challenge from the classical computing research community. Baratz’s defense is strong, but many will await peer-reviewed reproductions, comparisons, and more benchmark data. The Quantum Insider

  • Lead times and Sales Cycles: High-cost systems (US$20-40 million) mean long lead times, customization, installation, calibration. Access via cloud (Leap) helps but doesn’t entirely remove deployment costs or system-ownership obstacles. D-Wave Investor Relations+1

Strategic Vision & Roadmap

  • Baratz is pushing toward 100,000 qubits in future annealing architectures, scaling connectivity, coherence, and energy efficiency. The cryogenic packaging initiative is intended to support both annealing and gate-model processors. D-Wave Investor Relations

  • Emphasis on hybrid quantum-classical computing: integrating quantum annealers with classical systems to solve optimization, machine learning, materials simulation, artificial intelligence problems. The quantum AI toolkit is part of that. D-Wave Investor Relations+1

  • Focus on energy efficiency, reducing noise, improving coherence to make solutions more reliable. Baratz often highlights how newer systems deliver greater performance without substantially increasing power draw. Business Wire

Why Alan Baratz’s Role Is Pivotal

Putting together all this information, Baratz is shaping D-Wave and quantum computing more broadly in several important ways:

  1. Bridging Hardware & Product: He isn't content with just pushing quantum annealing hardware; he ensures it is production-ready, accessible (via cloud), with supporting tools (AI, ML toolkits).

  2. Claiming & Defending Breakthroughs: He is assertive about D-Wave's achievements (quantum supremacy, large-scale simulation), while engaging with feedback and criticism from the broader scientific community.

  3. Balancing Technical & Business Metrics: Revenue growth, cash reserves, system launches, customer engagements are all integral to his strategy—not just theoretical or research wins.

  4. Scaling Up with Vision: With Advantage2, cryogenic packaging, connectivity, noise, coherence improvements, Baratz is building for scale (qubits, systems, use cases) and trying to make quantum computing technologically and economically sustainable.

Outlook & What to Watch

Here are what to look for in coming quarters/years under Baratz’s leadership:

  • More proof-points of quantum supremacy / advantage that are peer-reviewed and reproducible, especially in optimization, AI, materials science.

  • Expansion of Advantage2 systems globally (cloud and on-premises), uptake by enterprises with real cost/benefit metrics.

  • Progress toward profitability: narrowing net losses, improving operational efficiencies, scaling bookings vs revenue.

  • Advances in coherence, energy efficiency, qubit connectivity, noise reduction.

  • How hybrid quantum-classical workflows become standard in enterprises—whether Leap and toolkits make integration smooth.

  • Regulatory / standards / security aspects as quantum usage spreads (how uptime/security/compliance are managed).

Conclusion

Alan Baratz has taken D-Wave from being one of the early pioneers into a moment of growing commercial and technical maturity. He is pushing annealing quantum computing into arenas where enterprise value intersects with cutting-edge scientific research: optimization, materials simulation, AI. With Advantage2, the quantum AI toolbox, strong cash reserves, and bold supremacy claims, Baratz is staking a claim for D-Wave to lead in the space of quantum systems that solve real hard problems, not just theoretical ones. The challenges—profitability, verification, lead times—are substantial, but his track record suggests a pragmatic, engineering-driven roadmap rather than hype.

References & Source Links

  • D-Wave Reports Second Quarter 2025 Results. D-Wave. Aug  7, 2025. D-Wave Investor Relations

  • “D-Wave Posts Record Cash Reserves and 42% Revenue Growth in Q2, But Faces Widening Losses.” The Quantum Insider. Aug  11, 2025. The Quantum Insider

  • “D-Wave CEO Dr. Alan Baratz Discusses Company’s Technical and Commercial Momentum on Fox Business’ The Claman Countdown.” May 12, 2025. D-Wave Investor Relations

  • “D-Wave Announces General Availability of Advantage2 Quantum Computer, Its Most Advanced and Performant System.” BusinessWire. May 20, 2025. Business Wire

  • “D-Wave CEO Responds to Criticisms About Quantum Supremacy Claim.” The Quantum Insider. Mar 14, 2025. The Quantum Insider


  • What is quantum computing and how does it differ from classical computing? Keysight+1

  • What are qubits, superposition, entanglement, and why do they matter? quandela.com+1


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