Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Satya Nadella and Nvidia\u2019s Jensen Huang couldn\u2019t sound more different on the future of quantum computing.<\/p>\n
Back in the spring, Huang rattled the sector when he claimed quantum computing wouldn\u2019t be \u201cvery useful\u201d for another 15 to 30 years, sending quantum stocks into a tailspin.<\/p>\n
He later apologized<\/a> saying he was mistaken and that the industry is at an \u201cinflection point\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Nadella is going full-quantum with Microsoft. \u201cThe next big accelerator in the cloud will be quantum, and I\u2019m excited about our progress,\u201d he told investors in Microsoft\u2019s July earnings call. <\/p>\n He went further, touting the company\u2019s deployment of the \u201cworld\u2019s first operational Level 2 Quantum computer\u201d in partnership with Atom Computing.<\/p>\n And IBM isn\u2019t sitting out either this summer. Big Blue declared<\/a> it has the \u201cmost viable path\u201d to a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer<\/a> by 2029.<\/p>\n \ud83d\ude80 D-Wave\u2019s big year<\/p>\n As one of the few pure-play quantum small caps, Canadian startup D-Wave (QBTS) has become a go-to speculative bet on the sector.<\/p>\n Its stock is up nearly 86% in 2025, fueled in part by a March paper in Science<\/a> claiming \u201cquantum supremacy\u201d on a useful problem, which is something no other company has demonstrated.<\/p>\n Analysts have jumped on board immediately, <\/p>\n Stifel initiated coverage<\/a> this month with a Buy rating and a $26 price target, calling D-Wave a pioneer in commercial quantum annealing systems and highlighting its funding runway toward eventual profitability. <\/p>\n Stifel sees the overall market hitting $10 billion by 2030.<\/p>\n Piper Sandler also boosted its target from $13 to $22, keeping an Overweight rating. Analysts pointed to D-Wave\u2019s 100+ partnerships with commercial and government clients<\/a> as proof of growing demand.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcb8 The missing piece: revenue<\/p>\n But not everyone is sold. Joseph Parrish, a widely followed Seeking Alpha analyst<\/a>, raised concerns about when D-Wave will turn scientific milestones into cash flow.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring the Q2 earnings call, management was clearly very excited about different projects and strategic efforts, but the main takeaway I got is that many of them are prospective and may only reward shareholders after a very long time,\u201d Parrish wrote.<\/p>\n