I’m reviewing previous state-of-the-art in quantum computing in preparation for Google’s supposed upcoming announcement of quantum supremacy. Hadn’t heard anything about D-Wave in a few years, so I thought I’d check where things stand…

…why bother with one of these devices? We posed that question to researchers using D-Wave computers at Lockheed Martin, Los Alamos National Lab, Volkswagen, and elsewhere. In short, D-Waves are in their early days, but these organizations are hoping to eventually use them to solve problems, like predicting elections, routing taxis in traffic jams, or picking crucial data out of background noise. They want to start approaching these puzzles from a quantum computing mindset as early as possible. No one yet claims to have found the killer app that will bring quantum computing power to the masses. And while D-Wave has demonstrated it can really simulate quantum mechanics, other machines can perform similar tasks, quicker. But if these researchers continue to refine their ideas, they’ll be ready for the day some future D-Wave machine, or any other quantum computer, might provide real benefits.

https://gizmodo.com/why-did-nasa-lockheed-martin-and-others-spend-million-1826241515