PALO ALTO, Calif. & NORTH WALES, UK – September 30, 2025 – D-Wave Quantum Inc. (“D-Wave” or the “Company”), a leader in quantum computing systems, software, and services and the world’s first commercial supplier of quantum computers, and North Wales Police (NWP) today announced the completion of a joint proof-of technology project leveraging a hybrid-quantum application to optimize placement of police vehicles for emergency response. The hybrid-quantum technology delivered a faster, more accurate, and more efficient solution than classical methods alone, providing NWP with the ability to reduce the average incident response time by nearly 50%.

NWP must frequently address high-priority incidents where response times are critical to the safety of citizens. Using classical optimization technology to coordinate police vehicle assignments can be a slow, resource-intensive process that limits the ability to respond rapidly or adjust strategy in real-time. Officers must cover large geographies under difficult constraints and dynamic variables, including ambitious response-time targets, limited staffing, demanding operational duties, and ever-shifting deployment needs driven by factors such as crime patterns, public events, and emergencies.

NWP collaborated with D-Wave to build and test a hybrid-quantum application for optimizing “forward deployment,” the practice of strategically positioning officers in high-risk areas to enable faster response times, enhance visibility, and deter crime. The application, which leverages a hybrid-quantum solver available through D-Wave’s LeapTM quantum cloud service, outperformed NWP’s classical optimization solution by reducing police vehicle coordination time from four months to four minutes, significantly improving real-time adaptability. The test also demonstrated that NWP could respond to at least 90% of incidents within their target response time using the hybrid-quantum application.

“As police forces increasingly rely on data-driven strategies to improve response times and coverage, hybrid-quantum computing can offer the speed, precision, and intelligence needed to identify optimal officer placements and enhance public safety,” said Dr. Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave. “Hybrid-quantum computing is beginning to show real-world potential across private and public sectors, and we’re thrilled to see the potential for it to make a meaningful impact in forward deployment with North Wales Police.”

The proof-of-technology project was supported by a grant from the Test and Learn Fund that NWP secured from the UK Policing's National Science and Innovation Board. Following the successful project, the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser for Policing recognized it to be of national cross-government departmental interest with opportunity for future development and deployment. The project highlights the importance and value of cross-border collaboration, with D-Wave technology—developed in Canada by a U.S. company—addressing a key UK public sector challenge.

“Optimizing forward deployment is a challenge for most police forces,” said Alistair Hughes, lead for analytics and AI at North Wales Police. “A reduction in response time can reduce crime, reduce offense escalation and increase public confidence. We believe D-Wave’s hybrid-quantum application could be scaled nationally to save time, reduce costs, improve outcomes, and lower our carbon footprint.”