SkyWater and D-Wave extend quantum manufacturing deal

SkyWater Technology and D-Wave Quantum Inc. (Nasdaq: QBTS) have signed a multi-year agreement to continue their semiconductor manufacturing partnership at SkyWater's Minnesota facility, according to a press release from the companies.

The collaboration, which spans more than a decade, covers specialized semiconductor process development and manufacturing in support of D-Wave's superconducting quantum computing technology roadmap. The agreement includes intellectual property protections for D-Wave as it advances its quantum systems.

The partnership has supported multiple generations of D-Wave technology, including fabrication of Advantage2 processors. A D-Wave Advantage2 system manufactured at SkyWater was used in research published in Science in 2025, which demonstrated performance beyond classical approaches on a quantum simulation problem.

Separately, the two companies applied D-Wave's annealing quantum computing technology to SkyWater's own manufacturing operations. An optimized maintenance schedule produced through that project reduced lot delays by up to 30%, improving factory throughput. A follow-on proof-of-concept is planned to incorporate resource availability, technician constraints, and additional operational factors.

"Our work with the SkyWater team has played an important role in powering the past decade of D-Wave's superconducting quantum annealing technology," said Dr. Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave. "This agreement provides continuity with an experienced manufacturing team and specialized process capabilities we know well as we build the next generations of our quantum systems."

Thomas Sonderman, CEO of SkyWater Technology, said the agreement "reinforces our commitment to providing D-Wave and customers across the quantum ecosystem with the unique process development and manufacturing capabilities they need to advance their technologies."

SkyWater recently launched a unit called SkyWater Quantum Solutions, aimed at helping quantum companies move technologies from development toward repeatable manufacturing.

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