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Luke Kawa

D-Wave Quantum agrees to acquire Quantum Circuits for $550 million to boost gate-model development

D-Wave Quantum announced Wednesday that it has struck a deal to purchase Quantum Circuits for $550 million, as the annealing-centric quantum computing company continues its push to bolster its gate-model capabilities.

The company said that $300 million will be paid in D-Wave stock, with the remainder in cash.

D-Wave is the major player in annealing quantum computing, an approach that solves more specialized optimization problems. Gate-based quantum computers, which aim to address even more complex and broad queries, are the dominant approach being pursued by publicly traded quantum computing firms. Gate model developers have also tended to get more interest from government agencies, as their technology is seen as the ultimate end point for quantum computing and therefore more worthy of support.

“By combining the world’s leading annealing quantum computing company with the world’s leading developer of error-corrected gate-model technology, D-Wave will dramatically accelerate the projected time to a scaled, error-corrected gate-model quantum computer alongside and complementary to its commercial annealing quantum systems,” per the press release. “Combining these technologies is expected to facilitate an accelerated commercial gate-model product roadmap that D-Wave believes will enable it to be the first to deliver fully error-corrected, scaled gate-model quantum computing”

Thanks to this acquisition, D-Wave plans to deliver an initial dual-rail gate-model system in 2026.

During the conference call that followed the release of Q3 earnings in November, CEO Dr. Alan Baratz highlighted gate-model development as a priority for D-Wave.

“Up until now, our investment in gate has been light, mostly because we haven’t had the funds to be able to grow that investment all that much. Now with the roughly $830 million in the bank, we have the resources to be able to invest more in that program, both internal investment and through acquisition to accelerate the program,” he told Sherwood News.

“We have one customer who has said, ‘When you have a gate-model system, I want it.’”

This news comes on the heels of the firm’s announcement on Tuesday that it’s solved a key problem when it comes to scaling superconducting gate-model quantum computers: how to keep qubits in the same place without producing too much heat.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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