Rigetti Quantum Computing

Market position

Rigetti is one of a small group of pure-play gate-model quantum hardware companies and is described as a full-stack superconducting quantum asset with in-house fabrication. It was named by X-Prize founder Peter Diamandis in 2016 as one of three leaders in quantum computing alongside IBM and Google, and MIT Technology Review listed it among the 50 smartest companies of 2017. At the time of its 2022 listing its 80-qubit Aspen-M was described as the world's second-largest gate-model quantum computer and the largest available on Amazon Braket; in 2026 Cepheus-1-108Q was described as the first device exceeding 100 qubits on Amazon Braket and, per its CEO, the largest modular system on the market. Rigetti is one of nine companies in a $2.013 billion federal quantum initiative. Market capitalization was about $4.9 billion as of 31 July 2026.

Vertical integration across chip design, in-house fabrication at Fab-1, control systems and software; a patented modular multi-chip/chiplet processor architecture that Rigetti says allows scaling by combining 9-qubit chiplets; ultra-low-latency hybrid quantum-classical integration with public and private clouds; and commercially purchasable hardware such as the Novera 9-qubit QPU.

Technology

Superconducting transmon qubit processors fabricated in-house at Fab-1 and operated in dilution refrigerators. The architecture is modular and chiplet-based: Cepheus-1-108Q is assembled from twelve 9-qubit chiplets, following the 36-qubit four-chiplet Cepheus-1-36Q. Rigetti says it developed the industry's first multi-chip quantum processor. Software includes the Forest platform and the Quil instruction language for hybrid quantum-classical programs run from Python tools. Published R&D covers real-time low-latency quantum error correction with an FPGA decoder integrated into the control system, fast adiabatic CZ gates using floating tunable couplers with residual ZZ cancellation, on-chip Dayem-bridge thermometry, and qubit-efficient variational optimization generalizing QAOA. A third-party profile lists 84 patent families and ~30 ns gate speed, with quantum error correction in development.

Go-to-market

Direct sales of QPUs and on-premises systems, its own Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform, and distribution through third-party cloud marketplaces including Amazon Braket and Microsoft Azure Quantum (integrated from September 2024). The company also works through technology partnerships (a third-party profile counts 13 partnerships), including NVIDIA's NVQLink integration, Algorithmiq for quantum machine learning at the UK NQCC, QphoX for microwave-to-optical transduction, HPE for hybrid quantum-classical supercomputing, and access via qBraid/Quantum Rings' Open Quantum platform.

Global enterprise, government and research clients, plus academic and corporate researchers buying QPUs directly and developers accessing systems via cloud platforms. Named or referenced customers and counterparties include C-DAC India, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the UK NQCC, and NSF/HPE-funded supercomputing work; a third-party profile counts four enterprise users.

Geography

Headquartered in Berkeley, California, with the Fab-1 manufacturing facility in nearby Fremont, California. At the time of the 2022 listing the company reported offices in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. In March 2026 it announced plans to invest up to $100 million in the UK, deploying a 1,000+ qubit machine within three to four years — its first major investment outside the US — and it plans to install a 108-qubit on-premises system in Bengaluru, India in the second half of 2026. Work under the AFRL contract is at the laboratory's Rome, New York facility.

History

After the 2014 accelerator programs, Rigetti produced its first quantum processor by February 2016, a three-qubit chip made from aluminum circuits on a silicon wafer, and raised a $24M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz in 2016 and a $40M Series B led by Vy Capital in November 2016, with Y Combinator participating in both. By spring 2017 it was testing eight-qubit machines, and in June 2017 released the Forest 1.0 platform. In October 2021 it announced a SPAC merger with Supernova Partners Acquisition Company II at an estimated $1.5 billion valuation; the deal closed 2 March 2022, generating approximately $261.75 million in gross proceeds, and shares began trading on Nasdaq as RGTI. Subodh Kulkarni became president and CEO in December 2022. Rigetti launched an 84-qubit single-chip processor in July 2023, Ankaa-3 (84 qubits, 99.5% median two-qubit fidelity) in December 2024, the 36-qubit chiplet-based Cepheus-1-36Q in August 2025, and the 108-qubit Cepheus-1-108Q in April 2026.

Risks & controversies

Rigetti has historically operated at a loss, reporting a $69 million operating loss and $201 million net loss on $10.8 million of revenue in 2024, and revenue declined to $7.1 million in 2025. The stock fell 32.9% year to date as of 31 July 2026. Its roadmap targets have shifted over time: the 2021 SPAC materials projected scaling from 80 qubits to 1,000 qubits by 2024 and 4,000 by 2026, while the 2026 roadmap targets 1,000+ qubits by the end of 2027. Reported federal involvement — October 2025 talks with the Trump administration over equity stakes in exchange for funding, and the May 2026 Commerce Department letter of intent contemplating a minority government equity stake — introduces dilution and policy dependence. Delivered two-qubit fidelity on the 108-qubit system (about 99.1%, or 98.55% median CZ on the company's own dashboard) remains below the 99.5% target. Speculation about Rigetti as an acquisition target in a July 2026 Yahoo Finance article was explicitly framed as a thought exercise with no reported deal talks.