Detailed narrative
Technical Milestones and Fidelity Advancements
Rigetti achieved a 2-qubit gate fidelity as high as 99.9% at 28 nanosecond gate speed using its proprietary Adiabatic CZ scheme, alongside maintaining 99.9% 1-qubit gate fidelity. The company also reported median 2-qubit gate fidelities of 99.7% on its 9-qubit system, 99.6% on its 36-qubit system, and 99% on its 108-qubit system (CPS-108Q), demonstrating significant progress in materials, fabrication, and system design. This progress helps narrow the fidelity gap with other quantum modalities while delivering speeds significantly faster than some approaches.
Chiplet Architecture and Scaling Strategy
Rigetti successfully deployed multiple systems to the cloud, including an 84-qubit monolithic chip system and a 36-qubit chiplet-based system, validating the chiplet timing in practice. The company views chiplets as crucial for scaling quantum systems beyond 100 qubits, addressing the impracticality of scaling to thousands of qubits on a single die. Architectural refinements were executed to improve system stability and control for the 108-qubit chiplet-based system, underscoring the importance of their in-house foundry.
Fab 1 as a Competitive Advantage
Rigetti operates Fab 1, the industry's only dedicated and integrated quantum device manufacturing facility. This allows for tight coupling of design, fabrication, and testing, enabling faster iteration cycles and proprietary advancements as systems scale. Fab 1 is considered a durable competitive advantage, accelerating the roadmap and creating a barrier to entry for competitors. The company also offers Fab 1 as a foundry to select customers like the DOE, DoD, and U.K. National Government.
Strategic Customer Engagements and On-Premises Demand
The company is experiencing increased demand for on-premises quantum systems, particularly from national governments and research institutions. This includes an $8.4 million order from India's C-DAC for a 108-qubit system and approximately $5.7 million in purchase orders for two 9-qubit Novera systems. A Novera QPU order from a Japanese research organization further expands Rigetti's international presence, with delivery scheduled for April 2026.
Ecosystem Approach and Partnerships
Rigetti emphasizes an open, modular architecture, partnering with companies like Reveriane for real-time quantum error correction, NVIDIA for NVQLink integration with AI supercomputing, and QphoX and the U.K.'s National Quantum Compute Center on optical readout of superconducting qubits. This ecosystem approach provides flexibility, accelerates innovation, and reduces execution risk by integrating best-in-class solutions, reflecting a shared view that quantum computers will coexist with CPUs and GPUs.
Long-Term Vision and Quantum Advantage
Rigetti defines quantum advantage as outperforming classical systems on tactical workloads in real computing environments for commercial applicability, requiring systems on the order of 1,000 qubits, 2-qubit gate fidelity approaching 99.9%, gate speeds below 15 nanoseconds, and integrated error mitigation. The company estimates being roughly three years from reaching this point, prioritizing technical rigor and capital discipline over short-term milestones, with a focus on meaningful, durable impact over the next 5 to 10 years.