Rigetti Computing, Inc. (RGTIW)

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGTI; warrant: RGTIW) designs and manufactures superconducting quantum processors and builds the quantum computers that house them. Unlike classical computers, which process information as ones and zeros, quantum computers exploit the properties of quantum mechanics to perform certain types of calculations exponentially faster. Rigetti’s mission is to build practical quantum computers and make them accessible via the cloud, allowing researchers and enterprises to run quantum algorithms without owning hardware.

Quantum computing is not a business yet — it is a technology racing toward a business. Rigetti is betting the company that the race matters.

How Rigetti makes money — and why it’s not simple yet

Rigetti operates in the pre-revenue-at-scale phase typical of deep-tech hardware companies. The firm generates revenue through three channels, each modest but meaningful for a startup: cloud access (researchers pay per minute or per run to use Rigetti’s quantum computers remotely), licensing of quantum software tools, and government contracts. The cloud revenue stream is the proof of concept — users can run real quantum algorithms without purchasing hardware. But cloud revenue alone cannot sustain a quantum hardware manufacturer. The leverage comes from government.

The Chips and Science Act, passed in 2022, allocated substantial funding to boost American quantum computing capabilities. In May 2026, Rigetti signed a letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce for up to $100 million in federal funding spread over three years to accelerate superconducting quantum computing research and development. This is not revenue; it is capital that covers R&D costs. But it allows the firm to invest in processor design without requiring private capital to foot the entire bill.

The technology: superconducting qubits as the chosen path

Rigetti chose superconducting qubits as its technology platform. A qubit is the quantum equivalent of a classical computer bit, but it can exist in a state called superposition — both zero and one at once — until measured. Superconducting qubits are made from josephson junctions (tiny circuits cooled to near absolute zero) that exhibit quantum behaviour.

The advantage of superconductivity: qubits can be fabricated using established semiconductor processes, and the physics is well-understood. The disadvantage: qubits are fragile and noisy. A stray electromagnetic fluctuation can flip a qubit’s state, introducing errors. Building a quantum computer means controlling error rates so that algorithms can run long enough to produce useful results.

Rigetti has released a series of quantum processors with increasing capability. The Novera chip is a 9-qubit system. The Cepheus series (36 qubits) represents a jump in scale. Most recently, the Ankaa-3 system offers 84 qubits. The headline metric is qubit count, but the more important measure is two-qubit gate fidelity — the accuracy with which the processor can perform two-qubit operations, which are the building blocks of quantum algorithms. In July 2025, Rigetti announced it achieved 99.5 percent median two-qubit gate fidelity, a reduction in error rates by roughly 2x compared to earlier work.

Capital and the path to breakeven

Rigetti does not earn enough from cloud access or software licensing to cover its R&D costs. The firm is funded by a combination of venture capital (investors who bought stock at earlier rounds), public market capital (from its NASDAQ listing in March 2022), and increasingly, government grants and contracts.

This funding model reflects the reality of quantum hardware. Meaningful progress in qubit count and error rates requires world-class physicists, engineers, and fabrication expertise, which is expensive. Rigetti cannot scale revenue by dropping prices; quantum computers are not yet in mass production, and there is no mass market. Instead, the company must grow into usefulness: as error rates improve and qubit counts increase, the range of solvable problems expands, attracting more users and driving adoption.

Competition and the quantum computing landscape

Rigetti is one of several firms building quantum computers. IBM, Google, IonQ, and others are pursuing different qubit technologies or different business models. IBM has chosen superconducting qubits (like Rigetti) and has invested years and billions into the effort. Google demonstrated quantum supremacy (the ability to solve a problem faster than a classical computer) on a 53-qubit superconducting processor in 2019. IonQ has chosen trapped-ion qubits, a different physical platform.

The competitive advantage for any quantum firm lies in error rates, qubit stability, and the rate of progress. Rigetti’s claim is that its superconducting platform is progressing toward practical utility. But the race is not won by the first to announce a large qubit count — it is won by whoever produces the first commercially valuable quantum application. That is still years away.

The broader strategy: hardware and cloud

Rigetti’s long-term bet is that quantum computers will eventually be used routinely by enterprises to solve hard problems (drug discovery, materials science, optimisation). The firm aims to own both the hardware and the software distribution layer. By operating quantum computers accessible via the cloud, Rigetti captures data on which algorithms work well and where the biggest bottlenecks lie. This information informs the next generation of hardware. The cloud distribution layer also creates stickiness: if users build algorithms on Rigetti hardware, they are less likely to switch to a competitor’s platform.

The government funding accelerates this timeline. With $100 million in federal backing, Rigetti can invest more aggressively in processor design and manufacturing capability without diluting shareholders further. But it also means the company is now accountable to government programme managers who have their own timelines and expectations.

How to research Rigetti as an investment

Rigetti files quarterly reports with the SEC and hosts earnings calls that detail progress on processor development. Watch the trajectory of error rates and qubit counts — this is the operational heartbeat of the business. Announcements of new processor generations or new cloud partners signal momentum.

The investment thesis hinges on a long-term bet: that quantum computing moves from lab experiment to commercial tool. This requires multiple things to go right simultaneously — steady progress in error correction, growth in the user base, emergence of “killer apps” that demonstrate clear economic value, and continued government and private funding. Rigetti has made real progress on error rates, but the path from a 99.5 percent fidelity qubit to a commercially valuable quantum computer is still substantial.