Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ: QUBT) announced the Dirac-3S, a next-generation quantum optimization machine that the company says can handle up to 9,980 variables, a tenfold increase over its current Dirac-3 system. The first customer shipment is expected in November 2026, according to a company statement.

The Dirac-3S is built around a modular architecture consisting of a compact 5U base unit that can be extended with Expansion Modules. QCi says it has demonstrated configurations supporting up to 9,980 variables using one Expansion Module, with the design intended to accommodate additional modules over time.

The system supports continuous, integer and higher-order optimization and can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud. QCi says the platform is compatible with AI and machine learning pipelines. Target application areas cited include financial services, logistics, manufacturing, energy, telecommunications, and aerospace and defense.

QCi published a Technical Review comparing Dirac-3S against Projected Gradient Descent and the commercial classical solver Hexaly. On synthetic problems with known optimal solutions ranging from 2,000 to 9,980 variables, the company states Dirac-3S was the only solver to find the optimal solution across all tested instances. On DIMACS maximum-clique benchmarks, the company says Dirac-3S more frequently identified the highest-quality solutions than the other evaluated methods.

"Dirac-3S takes our quantum optimization platform from demonstrating what is possible to delivering a system built for practical commercial use," said Yong Meng Sua, Chief Technology Officer of QCi.

The Dirac-3S builds on the first-generation Dirac-3, which QCi says has been used by academic researchers. Paul Griffin, Associate Professor at Singapore Management University, said the expanded capabilities "enable us to pursue significantly larger and more complex optimization challenges."

QCi is headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey, and also has operations across several U.S. states including Arizona, California, and Virginia.