AT&T's Quantum Leap
AT&T expands D-Wave quantum partnership, dramatically cutting network optimization times.
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Key Points
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AT&T's agentic AI tools have already improved outage detection and reduced customer downtime by 12 million hours in 2025.
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Lucus Haugen, AT&T’s director of data science, said D-Wave’s annealing quantum computing gives us a new way to approach optimization and high-intensity compute challenges across AT&T’s network.
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Premarket trading reactions showed D-Wave shares jumping in the vicinity of 8% to 13% on the announcement, with figures such as about 8% to roughly $17.50–$17.53 and around 13% cited across outlets.
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Analysts note a momentum-driven stock story for QBTS with earnings due August 6, 2026; consensus price target around $40.13; ratings vary, including Buy in some coverage and Neutral in others due to losses and cash burn, with some caution due to negative momentum indicators.
AT&T is expanding its use of D-Wave Quantum's technology to optimize its massive telecom network, and the results are already striking. A key optimization task that once took about an hour now runs in under 15 seconds, according to Yahoo Finance.
The news sent D-Wave (QBTS) shares up more than 9% in premarket trading, according to Yahoo Finance. The deal covers outage detection, technician routing, network build planning, and traffic management — making it one of the most concrete real-world deployments of quantum computing to date.
AT&T Cuts Optimization Time from an Hour to Seconds
The core breakthrough is speed. A network optimization workload that previously took roughly 60 minutes now completes in under 15 seconds using D-Wave's annealing quantum computing. Annealing quantum computing is a method that finds the best solution among millions of options very quickly — like solving a massive puzzle in a fraction of the time.
Lucas Haugen, AT&T's director of data science, said D-Wave's technology "gives us a new way to approach optimization and high-intensity compute challenges across AT&T's network." AT&T also reported that its agentic AI tools — software agents that act on their own to fix problems — already reduced customer downtime by 12 million hours in 2025, according to Yahoo Finance.
What the Expanded Partnership Will Actually Do
The two companies plan to broaden the work well beyond the initial use case. New applications include outage response, routing repair technicians more efficiently, planning where to build new network infrastructure, and managing traffic flow across AT&T's systems.
AT&T is also separately evaluating gate-model quantum security and communications technology. Gate-model quantum computing is a different style of quantum computing, more like a traditional computer but far more powerful. That signals AT&T is hedging its bets across multiple quantum approaches, not just D-Wave's, according to Yahoo Finance.
D-Wave Stock Jumps as Market Cheers the Deal
Investors reacted quickly. D-Wave shares rose more than 9% in premarket trading, with some reports citing gains as high as 13%. The stock was seen trading around $17.50 to $17.53 in early activity, according to Yahoo Finance.
Other quantum-related stocks also moved higher on the news, with D-Wave leading the group. The announcement came ahead of the company's next earnings report, expected around August 6, 2026, which will give investors a clearer look at whether the deal is showing up in D-Wave's financials.
Analysts See Promise but Flag Real Risks for QBTS
Analyst views on D-Wave are mixed. Some carry a Buy rating and point to improving bookings and stronger liquidity. Others rate the stock Neutral, flagging ongoing losses and cash burn as concerns. The consensus price target sits around $40.13, well above current trading levels, according to Yahoo Finance.
The bottom line: D-Wave is a momentum-driven stock. Big announcements like this AT&T expansion move the price fast. But analysts warn the long-term story depends on whether quantum deals translate into real revenue growth — something the August earnings report will start to answer.
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