A D-Wave Advantage2 system, fabricated at SkyWater Technology’s Minnesota facility, underpinned research published in Science in 2025 that demonstrated quantum performance exceeding classical methods for a practical simulation, the company says. SkyWater, described as “the first quantum foundry in the U.S.,” and D-Wave Quantum have extended their collaboration with a multi-year agreement building on over a decade of work. “Our team has developed deep process knowledge around D-Wave’s highly specialized technology,” said Thomas Sonderman, CEO of SkyWater Technology, “demonstrating the value of close collaboration between quantum innovators and semiconductor manufacturers.”
SkyWater’s Minnesota Fab Supports D-Wave’s Superconducting Quantum Technology
SkyWater’s Minnesota fabrication facility directly supported a performance benchmark achieved by D-Wave in 2025; a D-Wave Advantage2 system, manufactured at the facility, demonstrated quantum simulation results exceeding those possible with classical computers, as published in Science. This achievement highlights the tangible output of the collaboration between SkyWater and D-Wave, extending beyond process development into verifiable computational advantage, according to the company. The facility’s role in producing the Advantage2 processor emphasises its capacity to deliver functional quantum hardware.
More than ten years of collaboration between D-Wave and SkyWater has established a “deep base of process knowledge” specific to superconducting quantum technologies, according to company statements. This accumulated expertise isn’t simply about manufacturing. It’s a combined understanding of how to engineer superconducting processes, design quantum systems and then translate those designs into physical processors.
SkyWater specializes in combining complex manufacturing steps, engineering materials at the nanoscale and consistently producing the thin films critical to superconducting circuits. This allows D-Wave to focus on quantum system design while using SkyWater’s established semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, the firm reports. The recently extended multi-year agreement ensures continuity for D-Wave’s manufacturing needs and secures access to this specialized expertise as the company develops future quantum systems.
Dr. Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave, stated, “This agreement provides continuity with an experienced manufacturing team and specialized process capabilities we know well as we build the next generations of our quantum systems.” Beyond simply building processors, the collaboration has expanded to explore how quantum computing can improve semiconductor manufacturing itself. A proof-of-technology project earlier this year applied D-Wave’s annealing technology to optimize maintenance schedules at SkyWater’s Minnesota fab, resulting in up to a 30% reduction in lot delays and increased factory throughput.
Further development of this model is underway, with a forthcoming proof-of-concept aiming to incorporate resource availability and technician constraints into the optimization process. Thomas Sonderman, CEO of SkyWater Technology, emphasized the broader implications of this partnership, stating, “This agreement reinforces our commitment to providing D-Wave and customers across the quantum ecosystem with the unique process development and manufacturing capabilities they need to advance their technologies.” SkyWater’s launch of SkyWater Quantum Solutions signals a broader strategy to support quantum companies transitioning from research to repeatable manufacturing, positioning the Minnesota facility as a key component of the emerging quantum infrastructure.
Our work with the SkyWater team has played an important role in powering the past decade of D-Wave’s superconducting quantum annealing technology.
Dr. Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave
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