Quantum Computing Leaders at NVIDIA GTC 2025

On Thursday, March 20th, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang sat with several industry leaders in the quantum computing space as part of the company’s Quantum Day event at GTC 2025. Huang described his event as a chance to explore the latest advancements in quantum computing. Since he had claimed that practical quantum computers were at least 15 years away, the discussion would be an opportunity to “explain why he was wrong.”

The panel discussion included executives from D-Wave, Ion-Q, Quantinuum, Rigetti, QuEra, and Pasqal — companies that represent different approaches to quantum computing, ranging from superconducting qubits to trapped ions.

D-Wave Systems

D-Wave is a Canadian quantum computing company that uses superconducting qubits and specializes in quantum annealing technology. Quantum annealing uses quantum fluctuations to solve optimization problems and is generally easier and much less sensitive to noise than gate-based quantum computing.

On the company website, D-Wave describes itself as the “first [quantum company] to demonstrate quantum supremacy on [a] useful, real-world problem.” The company has reportedly leveraged its quantum computing technology in performing magnetic materials simulation in mere minutes and with far less energy consumption than a classical computing rig built with GPU clusters.

D-Wave’s CEO Alan Bratz had remarked his strong disagreement with Huang’s statement about quantum computing’s practicality, stating that “annealing is commercial today.”

Ion-Q

Ion-Q was founded in 2015 by Duke University professors, Christopher Moore and Jungsang Kim. The company specializes in trapped-ion quantum computers and states its mission as building the world’s best quantum computers to solve the world’s most complex problems.

IonQ's trapped-ion approach offers high-fidelity qubits, long coherence times, and precise control, making it a strong contender in the quantum computing space. Also, trapped-ion computers operate at room temperature in vacuum chambers, unlike superconducting qubits. However, they are also comparably harder to scale and have slower operating speeds.

Ion-Q produces commercially available systems which are “built for performance and practicality.” The company offers access to its systems via the IonQ Quantum Cloud which is available from providers such as Amazon Braket, Azure Quantum, and Google Cloud Marketplace. This makes it possible to run quantum algorithms without direct access to quantum hardware.

On Thursday, the company announced that they were able to achieve a quantum computing milestone in collaboration with Ansys — a 12% performance increase in modeling a blood pump. Nevertheless, Ion-Q Executive Chair Peter Chapman does not believe that quantum machines will replace classical computers, stating he foresees a future where quantum and classical systems are used together in optimized workflows.

Quantinuum

Quantinuum is the “world’s largest integrated quantum company” formed in 2021 through a merger of Cambridge Quantum and Honeywell Quantum Solutions. The company employs a trapped-ion approach to quantum computing, similar to Ion-Q. The company’s H-Series quantum computers have consistently set the highest record for quantum volume, currently at 2,097,152 or 221. Its quantum computers also offer the “industry’s highest fidelity” of 99.9% (single-qubit gate fidelity).

The company’s technology has found applications in cybersecurity, finance, machine learning, artificial intelligence, research, manufacturing, and engineering. InQuanto – the company’s Python-based quantum chemistry platform – is designed to facilitate “complex molecular and materials simulations” and “provide an ecosystem for quantum researchers to develop and implement novel algorithms for chemical problems.”

Rigetti

Founded by Chad Rigetti in 2021, Rigetti Computing is a “full-stack quantum computing company” that specializes in superconducting quantum processors. The company also develops integration software.

Rigetti employs an open, modular quantum architecture which makes it easier to leverage advancements from other companies. The company believes this approach is key to solving scaling challenges effectively and surpassing its competitors, namely IBM and Google.

Rigetti’s flagship product is an 84-qubit system with a seven-nanosecond gate speed and 99.5% median two-qubit gate fidelity. It is currently accessible on AWS and Azure. Its main platform, Forest, provides tools for hybrid quantum-classical computing, enabling users to integrate quantum computing with traditional computing methods.

QuEra

QuEra Computing Inc. is the “leading provider of quantum computers based on neutral atoms.” The company is based in Boston and builds on quantum computing research from Harvard and MIT.

The company’s quantum computers are built on single, pure rubidium atoms which are assembled and controlled via arrays of laser beams, similar to holography. The electrons in these atoms are excited to high-energy levels to enable quantum computations. QuEra co-founder Misha Lukin describes this technology as a “computer that evolves through computation.”

Neutral-atom quantum computing offers several key advantages over other approaches such as high scalability, high fidelity, room temperature operation, and high connectivity. The company operates Aquila, a 256-qubit machine and “the world’s largest publicly accessible quantum computer” which is available on Amazon Braket.

QuEra plans to achieve large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers by 2026.

Pasqal

Pasqal is a French quantum computing startup that uses the neutral atom modality like QuEra. The company is a full-stack solution provider with hardware, cloud, and software offerings.

Pascal has a strong engineering focus and prides itself in “turning lab experiments into real industrial products.” The company has deployed its quantum computing systems across the world, with installations in France and Germany. Pasqal plans to exceed 10000 qubits with a 1-cubit gates fidelity of 99.9% by 2030.

There are several different approaches to quantum computing, with each key player trying to carve out a niche for themselves. Each modality has its pros and cons and a hybrid model combining multiple technologies might emerge as the best solution.

NVIDIA has also entered the quantum computing space with the announcement of a research center in Boston, the Accelerated Quantum Research Center (NVAQC). At the Center, companies such as Quantinuum, Quantum Machines, and QuEra Computing will work together with researchers from Harvard and MIT to solve quantum computing problems and advance quantum computing research. The NVAQC is expected to begin operations later this year.