Rigetti Computing has signed a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for $100 million in funding to speed up research and development in superconducting quantum computing.
The company said the award will support three projects aimed at removing bottlenecks in scaling its systems: compressing readout electronics into a smaller integrated package, expanding cryogenic capacity using a new cryostat architecture, and developing fabrication capabilities for high-connectivity chip designs.
The agreement gives the department a minority, non-controlling equity stake in Rigetti as part of the funding terms.
Rigetti said the money is intended to accelerate its roadmap toward utility-scale quantum computing. The company’s systems are built on superconducting qubits and it highlighted gate speeds of 50 to 70 nanoseconds, which it said are about 10,000 times faster than trapped-ion systems and 100 times faster than neutral-atom systems.
The company currently sells on-premises quantum systems ranging from 9 qubits to 108 qubits. Its Cepheus systems span 36 qubits to 108 qubits and use chiplet-based technology, while its Novera QPU is a 9-qubit system designed to work with a customer’s existing cryogenic and control systems.
Rigetti also said it deployed the industry’s largest multi-chip quantum computer in 2026, the Cepheus-1-108Q, built from twelve 9-qubit chiplets. Today the company's shares have moved 7.17% to a price of $16.29. For more information, read the company's full 8-K submission here.
