D-Wave Offers Quantum Services For COVID-19 Response Efforts

D-Wave is extending free access to its quantum computing cloud services to anyone fighting COVID-19. The Vancouver-area company said it's a response to the Canadian government's call on the private sector to help during the coronavirus pandemic.

Because researchers and healthcare organizations have more pressing matters than googling "How do I quantum,” existing D-Wave partners, including Fortune 500 corporations and university labs, will pitch in engineering teams to lower the learning curve for interested parties.

• Potential quantum use cases: solving complex problems like modeling the virus's spread, accelerating drug discovery, or mapping logistics.

In a previous interview, CEO Alan Baratz told me D-Wave aims to "get quantum computing in the hand of developers and customers so they can start using it and help us understand what works and what doesn't." He made the comment in a commercial context, but it also applies during a public health crisis.

+ While we're here: Check out our guide to quantum computing written by Emerging Tech Brew editor Alex Hickey.