5,000 QUBITS! Inside D-Wave’s Quantum Annealer

Quantum annealing isn’t theory anymore. NASA, Mastercard, and Fortune-50 manufacturers are running workloads on D-Wave quantum computers, today.

Murray Thom, VP of Quantum Technology Evangelism at D-Wave, joins us to think on paper about what practical quantum computing looks like when it leaves the lab. Hybrid quantum-classical systems are cutting routing miles, reducing energy use, and optimizing portfolios right now.

This isn’t about promises. It’s about cost, power draw, SDKs, and ROI—straight from one of the leaders actually shipping systems.

Inside this episode:

Why D-Wave chose annealing over gate models
The leap from first chips to 5,000-qubit systems
Real demos in workforce scheduling and portfolio optimization
Why power draw stays flat at just 15kW
How to get hands-on with the Ocean SDK

You don’t need a physics degree to follow this. If you care about how quantum pays off in the real world, you’re already qualified.

This is Thinking on Paper. A clear look at why D-Wave doubled down on annealing, how it scaled to thousands of qubits, and what “useful quantum” actually means today.

Please enjoy the show.

And share with a quantum-curious friend.

--

Chapters

00:00 Why D-Wave built an annealer—not a gate model
05:30 Translating quantum physics into boardroom value
10:07 Key milestones: first chip to 5,000-qubit Advantage system
18:47 How quantum annealing finds better solutions, faster
25:35 Workforce scheduling demo that beats classical heuristics
34:48 Portfolio optimisation: side-by-side quantum vs. GPU
40:53 True cost to run a D-Wave system (power, hosting, access)
42:11 Hands-on: using the D-Wave Ocean SDK in Python


--


Our favourite quantum episodes:
Inside IBM Quantum:    • Equal1: This Is How You Scale Quantum Comp...  
Horizon Quantum With Joe Fitzsimons:    • Horizon Quantum: Why Software Is The Unsex...  
Quantum Software:    • Equal1: This Is How You Scale Quantum Comp...  

--

Connect with Thinking On Paper
PODCAST: www.thinkingonpaper.xyz
INSTAGRAM:   / thinkingonpaperpodcast  
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/00volKq...
APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...