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Rigetti Secures $100 Million CHIPS Award to Advance Quantum Scaling

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Key Takeaways

  • Rigetti secures a definitive $100 million CHIPS award to advance superconducting quantum computing R&D.
  • Funding supports miniaturized readout electronics, expanded cryogenic capacity and chip fabrication.
  • Rigetti targets scalability bottlenecks that could reduce system costs and shorten development timelines.

Rigetti Computing (RGTI - Free Report) secured a definitive $100 million award from the U.S. Department of Commerce under the CHIPS Act Research and Development Office to accelerate research and development aimed at scaling superconducting quantum computing. The funding marks a significant government-backed validation of Rigetti's technology and will support efforts to overcome critical engineering hurdles that have long constrained the development of utility-scale quantum computers. As part of the agreement, the Department will receive a minority, non-controlling equity stake in the company.

The funding will be deployed across three strategic R&D initiatives aligned with Rigetti's long-term technology roadmap. These include developing miniaturized integrated readout electronics, expanding cryogenic capacity through a next-generation cryostat architecture capable of supporting substantially larger systems and advancing fabrication capabilities for high-connectivity chip architectures. The projects are designed to address some of the biggest scalability bottlenecks in superconducting quantum computing, potentially reducing system costs, shortening development timelines and strengthening Rigetti's position as governments increasingly invest in quantum technologies for national security, AI, cryptography and scientific research.

Peers Updates

IonQ (IONQ - Free Report) signed an $8.18 million commercial agreement with Congruity360 to integrate its post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution appliances into the latter's enterprise data management platform. The partnership, one of the largest commercial quantum security deals announced in the United States, aims to enhance protection for sensitive enterprise data by deploying quantum-safe networking capabilities, expanding IonQ's presence in the growing enterprise cybersecurity market.

Recently, IonQ also unveiled Superion 256, its sixth-generation quantum computing platform and the first system in its next-generation Superion family, marking a key milestone in its hardware roadmap. The company has already fabricated its first fully integrated 256-qubit quantum processing units with subsidiary SkyWater and successfully trapped the first ions in prototype systems being built across multiple U.S. facilities.

D-Wave Quantum (QBTS - Free Report) also executed a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce, securing access to up to $100 million in funding under the CHIPS and Science Act, following a previously announced Letter of Intent. The funding is expected to support the company's quantum technology development efforts, reinforcing its position as a dual-platform quantum computing provider offering annealing and gate-model systems, software and services while advancing U.S.-backed quantum innovation.

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Rigetti’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of RGTI have lost 31.1% in the year-to-date period against the industry’s growth of 0.6%.

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From a valuation standpoint, Rigetti trades at a price-to-book ratio of 9.46, above the industry average. RGTI carries a Value Score of F.

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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Rigetti’s 2026 earnings implies a significant 70.3% improvement from the year-ago period.

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The company currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here

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