Rigetti Computing (RGTI) 21st Annual Needham Technology, Media, & Consumer Conference summary

Company background and technology approach

• Founded in 2013, the company chose superconducting gate-based quantum computing for scalability and speed, leveraging semiconductor chip technology for easier scaling and fast gate speeds comparable to CPUs and GPUs.

• Differentiates itself from larger competitors through an open modular architecture and chiplet-based design, enabling integration of third-party solutions and faster ecosystem growth.

• Holds around 300 patents, including pioneering chiplet architecture in quantum computing, which is seen as a scalable path to 1,000 qubits versus competitors' monolithic chips.

Industry landscape and government investment

• Global interest in quantum computing is rapidly increasing, with significant government investments, especially in China ($2.5–$3 billion/year), the U.S., U.K., India, and other developed countries.

• The U.S. is awaiting reauthorization of the NQI Act, expected to boost annual government investment to about $1 billion; current spending is about a third of that, with additional funding from DOE and DOD.

• The U.K.'s ProQure initiative is a six-year, $300–$400 million/year program, with the company planning a $100 million investment in the U.K. to align with this effort.

Recent achievements and technology roadmap

• Successfully deployed a 108-qubit system on cloud platforms including AWS and Azure, making it one of the most powerful quantum computers available.

• Sales tripled year-over-year, driven by increased traction with government labs, universities, and commercial entities.

• Current system achieves 99.9% 1-qubit and 99.1% 2-qubit gate fidelity, with a three-year goal to reach 1,000 qubits and 99.9% 2-qubit fidelity.