9 Aug 2022 – D-Wave achieved a significant corporate milestone by listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “QBTS”. The public debut came via a merger with a SPAC (special-purpose acquisition company) and made D-Wave one of only three quantum computing companies in the world to have publicly traded stock at the time.
On its first day, D-Wave’s shares jumped nearly 30% at one point, reflecting investor excitement for a rare pure-play quantum computing firm. The SPAC deal, initially expected to raise $340 million, ultimately brought in a smaller net sum after high shareholder redemptions, alongside a $40 million infusion from investors including Canada’s PSP Investments and Japan’s NEC. D-Wave stated it would use the funds to accelerate product development and expand its quantum cloud services for enterprise applications.
The company, founded in 1999 in Burnaby, BC, had long been a flagship of Canada’s quantum sector – known for delivering the world’s first commercial quantum computers – and had raised over $300 million privately before taking the leap to public markets.
Insight: D-Wave’s public listing was strategically significant for Canada’s tech ecosystem and the broader quantum industry. It signaled the maturation of quantum computing from laboratory R&D into a commercial enterprise that public investors could buy a stake in. For Canada, D-Wave’s NYSE debut showcased a domestic unicorn on the global stage, potentially attracting more venture and institutional interest in Canadian quantum start-ups. The move also imposed new pressure: as a public company, D-Wave faces intense scrutiny to grow revenues and move toward profitability (its 2021 revenue was only $6.3 million, underscoring the nascent state of the market). Nonetheless, being publicly traded gives D-Wave access to additional capital and credibility. It underscores that the “era of commercial quantum computing is here,” as CEO Alan Baratz put it, with D-Wave aiming to “unlock the power of quantum computing to benefit business and society”. The success or struggles of D-Wave as a public entity are likely to influence how and when other quantum companies (including those in Canada) seek the public markets.
