For years, the conversation around quantum computing was about technology. Today, it is about results.

At D-Wave, we’re seeing a clear trend among our customers: a focus on production quantum applications. From the outset, their projects are designed with the goal of successfully deploying quantum solutions into real-world operations. With a growing set of customer success stories now in production, organizations are gaining a clearer understanding of which problems are well-suited to quantum and how to successfully bring their own applications to life.

I saw this firsthand during my presentation at CERAWeek 2026 in Houston last month. After sharing three customer success stories, I stepped back and focused on the patterns behind them—then asked the audience for their own ideas. The response was immediate. An attendee, who I later learned is a licensed helicopter pilot, suggested optimizing spare parts inventory for helicopter fleet maintenance to improve overall efficiency. It was a great example and completely distinct from the others, showing how quickly people can recognize where quantum can apply once they see what success looks like.

How Companies Are Using Quantum Computing to Solve Real Problems Now

Just as in that example, businesses across a variety of industries are using D-Wave™ quantum computing technology to tackle complex optimization challenges that have long remained stubborn pain points.

In retail, that means the ability to quickly replan inventory or update workforce schedules in response to changing demand. Pattison Food Group, for example, has used this approach to save its workforce up to 50,000 hours annually.

In manufacturing, it means optimizing production schedules and improving workload balance in increasingly constrained operations. In sectors such as automotive manufacturing, where disruptions have become routine, quantum computing can provide fast answers when unexpected challenges arise. Ford Otosan, for example, can now routinely schedule the production of 1,000 transit vehicles in just 5 minutes instead of 30 minutes.

In MRO—maintenance, repair, and operations—it means getting the right resource to the right location at the right time. For AT&T, that meant optimizing field technical dispatch in just 15 seconds vs. an hour. These are real workloads capable of measurable business value—not theoretical exercises.

Some of the performance gains we once imagined are now operational realities. In business, speed and greater agility can mean the difference between staying ahead and falling behind. And we should not overlook the growing evidence for quantum’s energy-efficient computation.

A study published in Science last year described a magnetic materials simulation that would have required the world’s entire annual electricity consumption to run on one of the world’s largest classical supercomputers. The same calculation on a D-Wave annealing quantum computer used about $1 worth of electricity.

That kind of shift changes what’s possible.

In my recent reflections following Qubits 2026, I described this as an inflection point for the industry.

What’s becoming clear now is the urgency.

Operating environments have fundamentally changed: more variables, more constraints, more disruption. The approaches that worked a decade ago weren’t designed for this level of complexity.

The organizations pulling ahead are the ones rethinking how they solve their hardest problems—now.