D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) CEO Alan Baratz is turning up the heat on Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), arguing that quantum computing is poised to challenge the GPU giant's dominance in artificial intelligence. 

Speaking to Yahoo Finance at the Semafor World Economy Summit, Baratz said: "If I was Nvidia, I'd be shaking in my boots," framing quantum as the next wave of compute power that could eventually undercut traditional AI accelerators. 

His comments come as both companies court investors eager to bet on what comes after today's GPU-driven AI boom.

D-Wave Builds the Future

Baratz has long argued that D-Wave is moving quantum beyond lab experiments and into commercial use cases, where complex problems can be reframed for its annealing-based systems. 

At the Semafor event, he is positioning quantum computing not as a distant science project, but as a tool that enterprises can begin integrating alongside classical AI today. 

"Those that act now will define the next era of advantage in business and society. We're not waiting for the future—we're building it," Baratz wrote in a social media post on Tuesday. 

That message plays directly to investors in D-Wave, who are betting that early real-world traction can translate into revenue growth and a viable path to profitability.

Nvidia's Ising Release 

Nvidia, for its part, is not building its own quantum processors but is increasingly embedding itself in the quantum stack through software, simulation and error-correction research. 

On Tuesday, also World Quantum Day (4/14), unveiled an Ising family of open-source quantum AI models aimed at accelerating quantum error correction, highlighting how its CUDA and GPU platforms can be used to simulate and stabilize future quantum systems. 

By making these tools freely available, Nvidia is positioning its hardware as the default backbone for quantum researchers and startups, even if it never ships a quantum chip itself.

The Takeaway 

The split highlights a striking matchup: D-Wave is a pure-play quantum vendor offering direct access to working quantum systems, while Nvidia remains the entrenched giant pushing quantum forward with its classical AI software and GPU firepower.

Baratz's jab underscores how high the stakes have become, as quantum advocates argue their technology could solve certain optimization and simulation tasks far more efficiently than any GPU cluster. 

For now, the market is still firmly in Nvidia's corner—but if Baratz is right, quantum computers may eventually force even the GPU king to rethink what "accelerated computing" really means. 

QBTS Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, D-Wave shares were up 14.68% at $16.80 at the time of publication on Tuesday. 

The stock has hit a high of $17.08 and a low of $15.23 so far today, with 35.1 million shares changing hands. It’s 64.1% below its 52-week-high.

Photo courtesy of D-Wave Quantum, Inc.