Rigetti Computing's Technology Lags, Misses DARPA Program Support
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Jan 25 2026
0mins
Should l Buy RGTI?
Source: NASDAQ.COM
- Accuracy Issues: Rigetti's two-qubit gate fidelity stands at only 99.5%, significantly trailing IonQ's 99.99%, which severely impacts its competitiveness in quantum computing, especially as it falls below the 99.9% threshold recommended by data scientists for effective error correction.
- Government Program Setback: Rigetti's failure to advance to Stage B of the DARPA Quantum Benchmarking Initiative highlights its technological shortcomings, missing out on crucial government support that could affect future funding and partnership opportunities.
- System Launch Delay: The company has postponed the release of its new 108-qubit Cepheus-1-108Q system to improve its error rate, a delay that not only affects the product's market entry but may also diminish customer confidence, impacting sales and market share.
- Market Sentiment: Despite Rigetti's stock climbing over 45% in 2025 and more than 10% in 2026, analysts remain cautious about its future, suggesting that small orders will not change its lagging position in the quantum computing race, advising investors to stay on the sidelines.
Trade with 70% Backtested Accuracy
Stop guessing "Should I Buy RGTI?" and start using high-conviction signals backed by rigorous historical data.
Sign up today to access powerful investing tools and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Analyst Views on RGTI
Wall Street analysts forecast RGTI stock price to rise
10 Analyst Rating
7 Buy
3 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 17.700
Low
30.00
Averages
39.75
High
51.00
Current: 17.700
Low
30.00
Averages
39.75
High
51.00
About RGTI
Rigetti Computing, Inc. is a full-stack quantum computing company. The Company operates quantum computers over the cloud and serves global enterprise, government, and research clients through its Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform. The Company’s quantum-classical infrastructure provides high-performance integration with public and private clouds for practical quantum computing. It has developed a multi-chip quantum processor for scalable quantum computing systems. Through the Company’s Quantum Computing as a Service (QCaaS) platform, its machines can be integrated into any public, private or hybrid cloud. It is also engaged in the sale of quantum processing units (QPUs) and custom computing components, and development contracts and other services. Its QPUs contain fabricated silicon-based chips featuring superconducting qubits. The Company designs and manufactures its chips in-house at Fab-1, an integrated quantum device manufacturing facility.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Rigetti Computing Faces Competitive Pressure in Quantum Race
- Intensifying Market Competition: Rigetti Computing failed to advance in the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, indicating its products are lagging behind competitors, particularly against well-funded firms like IBM and Google, which may lead to a further shrinkage of its market share.
- Poor Financial Performance: In Q4 2024, Rigetti reported revenue of $1.9 million, down from $2.3 million in Q4 2023, highlighting its lackluster growth, while rival IonQ saw a staggering 429% year-over-year increase in revenue to $61.9 million, further emphasizing Rigetti's disadvantage.
- Risky Technology Path: By opting for superconducting qubits as the core technology for its quantum computing, Rigetti faces significant competitive pressure due to the same approach taken by IBM and Google, thereby reducing its chances of success in the market.
- Cautious Investment Recommendation: Given Rigetti's market performance and slow technological progress, analysts suggest investors consider other more promising quantum computing companies or related ETFs, as Rigetti's stock is not recommended under current circumstances.
See More
Rigetti Computing Faces Major Challenges in Quantum Race
- Market Position Lagging: With a market cap around $5 billion, Rigetti Computing has potential in quantum computing, but its failure to advance in DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative indicates its products are behind competitors, which could impact future market share.
- Revenue Decline: Rigetti's revenue in Q4 2024 was $1.9 million, down from $2.3 million in Q4 2023, while rival IonQ saw a 429% increase to $61.9 million, highlighting Rigetti's disadvantage in market competition.
- Technical Path Choice: By opting for superconducting qubits, Rigetti follows a popular but competitive route, facing stiff competition from well-funded players like IBM and Google, which diminishes its chances of success.
- Cautious Investment Advice: Given Rigetti's underperformance in the quantum computing sector, analysts recommend avoiding its stock and considering other technology-leading and rapidly growing quantum computing companies or related ETFs to mitigate investment risk.
See More
Nvidia Reshapes Quantum Computing Landscape
- Stock Rebound: Following Nvidia's announcement of the new quantum computing model Ising, quantum start-ups saw significant stock increases, with Rigetti rising 13.3%, IonQ up 21%, and D-Wave climbing 22.6%, indicating a renewed market confidence in quantum technology.
- Collaboration Opportunities: Nvidia's Ising model will provide an open-source and AI-powered platform for quantum computing, with IonQ and Rigetti actively partnering with Nvidia, enhancing their technological capabilities and potentially accelerating the adoption of quantum computing.
- Market Outlook: As the world's largest company by market cap, Nvidia's investment in quantum computing signals strong business potential, attracting attention from giants like Alphabet and IBM, which will provide quantum start-ups with greater support and resources in a competitive landscape.
- Technology Integration: Nvidia's Ising model positions AI as the operating system for quantum machines, improving the usability and reliability of quantum computing, thereby enhancing the market competitiveness of quantum start-ups and driving industry growth.
See More
Evaluating Quantum Computing Stocks: Rigetti vs Quantum Computing
- Market Valuation Comparison: Rigetti Computing is valued at $5.5 billion, significantly higher than Quantum Computing's $2 billion, indicating greater market confidence in Rigetti's leadership position in the quantum computing sector.
- Product Comprehensive Advantage: Rigetti offers a more comprehensive product lineup, including quantum processing chips and control systems, and has developed a quantum cloud services platform, making it more appealing to customers and driving its annual revenue to exceed Quantum Computing's by over ten times.
- Technology Application Differences: Quantum Computing focuses on photonics and manufactures quantum computing components, but its business leans more towards component manufacturing rather than complete quantum computers, limiting its market potential and revenue growth.
- Investment Risk Assessment: Although both stocks are speculative and carry high risks, Rigetti is viewed as a more attractive investment option in the current market environment, especially during price dips, which may yield better returns.
See More
Quantum Computing Rises, Alphabet Becomes Investment Favorite
- Quantum Economic Potential: Analysts at Boston Consulting Group estimate that quantum computing could generate up to $850 billion in global economic value by 2040, highlighting its significance in future technology and attracting investor interest.
- Stock Performance Comparison: As of mid-October 2025, shares of IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and D-Wave Quantum surged by 6,200% over the past 12 months; however, these stocks face historical challenges, indicating market over-optimism regarding quantum computing.
- Investor Preference Shift: Despite the impressive performance of pure-play quantum stocks, billionaire investors prefer Alphabet due to its multiple profitable business segments and active involvement in quantum computing, showcasing its long-term investment value.
- Alphabet's Market Advantages: Alphabet commands approximately 90% of global internet search traffic and demonstrated a 48% sales growth in Google Cloud, reflecting strong advertising pricing power and competitive advantages in the cloud services market, further solidifying its leadership in quantum computing.
See More
IonQ Reports 202% Revenue Growth to $130 Million in 2025
- Significant Revenue Growth: IonQ achieved $130 million in revenue for 2025, marking a 202% year-over-year increase, primarily driven by an 80% organic revenue growth, establishing it as the first pure-play quantum computing company to surpass $100 million in annual GAAP revenue, underscoring its leadership in the quantum computing sector.
- Optimistic Future Outlook: Management anticipates revenue will further surge to between $225 million and $245 million in 2026, reflecting strong market demand for quantum computing and IonQ's competitive technological edge, despite ongoing profitability challenges.
- Technical Advantage: IonQ's trapped-ion technology has achieved a world-record 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, enabling customers to realize a 10 billion-fold performance increase on the same-sized device, which has attracted over 60% of commercial clients and 30% of international clients, enhancing its market competitiveness.
- Massive Market Potential: Although IonQ reported a net loss of $510.4 million in 2025, McKinsey projects quantum computing revenue will grow from $4 billion in 2024 to $72 billion by 2035, presenting significant growth opportunities for IonQ, albeit with substantial investment risks still in play.
See More
Rigetti Computing Faces Competitive Pressure in Quantum Race
- Intensifying Market Competition: Rigetti Computing failed to advance in the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, indicating its products are lagging behind competitors, particularly against well-funded firms like IBM and Google, which may lead to a further shrinkage of its market share.
- Poor Financial Performance: In Q4 2024, Rigetti reported revenue of $1.9 million, down from $2.3 million in Q4 2023, highlighting its lackluster growth, while rival IonQ saw a staggering 429% year-over-year increase in revenue to $61.9 million, further emphasizing Rigetti's disadvantage.
- Risky Technology Path: By opting for superconducting qubits as the core technology for its quantum computing, Rigetti faces significant competitive pressure due to the same approach taken by IBM and Google, thereby reducing its chances of success in the market.
- Cautious Investment Recommendation: Given Rigetti's market performance and slow technological progress, analysts suggest investors consider other more promising quantum computing companies or related ETFs, as Rigetti's stock is not recommended under current circumstances.
See More
Rigetti Computing Faces Major Challenges in Quantum Race
- Market Position Lagging: With a market cap around $5 billion, Rigetti Computing has potential in quantum computing, but its failure to advance in DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative indicates its products are behind competitors, which could impact future market share.
- Revenue Decline: Rigetti's revenue in Q4 2024 was $1.9 million, down from $2.3 million in Q4 2023, while rival IonQ saw a 429% increase to $61.9 million, highlighting Rigetti's disadvantage in market competition.
- Technical Path Choice: By opting for superconducting qubits, Rigetti follows a popular but competitive route, facing stiff competition from well-funded players like IBM and Google, which diminishes its chances of success.
- Cautious Investment Advice: Given Rigetti's underperformance in the quantum computing sector, analysts recommend avoiding its stock and considering other technology-leading and rapidly growing quantum computing companies or related ETFs to mitigate investment risk.
See More
Nvidia Reshapes Quantum Computing Landscape
- Stock Rebound: Following Nvidia's announcement of the new quantum computing model Ising, quantum start-ups saw significant stock increases, with Rigetti rising 13.3%, IonQ up 21%, and D-Wave climbing 22.6%, indicating a renewed market confidence in quantum technology.
- Collaboration Opportunities: Nvidia's Ising model will provide an open-source and AI-powered platform for quantum computing, with IonQ and Rigetti actively partnering with Nvidia, enhancing their technological capabilities and potentially accelerating the adoption of quantum computing.
- Market Outlook: As the world's largest company by market cap, Nvidia's investment in quantum computing signals strong business potential, attracting attention from giants like Alphabet and IBM, which will provide quantum start-ups with greater support and resources in a competitive landscape.
- Technology Integration: Nvidia's Ising model positions AI as the operating system for quantum machines, improving the usability and reliability of quantum computing, thereby enhancing the market competitiveness of quantum start-ups and driving industry growth.
See More
Evaluating Quantum Computing Stocks: Rigetti vs Quantum Computing
- Market Valuation Comparison: Rigetti Computing is valued at $5.5 billion, significantly higher than Quantum Computing's $2 billion, indicating greater market confidence in Rigetti's leadership position in the quantum computing sector.
- Product Comprehensive Advantage: Rigetti offers a more comprehensive product lineup, including quantum processing chips and control systems, and has developed a quantum cloud services platform, making it more appealing to customers and driving its annual revenue to exceed Quantum Computing's by over ten times.
- Technology Application Differences: Quantum Computing focuses on photonics and manufactures quantum computing components, but its business leans more towards component manufacturing rather than complete quantum computers, limiting its market potential and revenue growth.
- Investment Risk Assessment: Although both stocks are speculative and carry high risks, Rigetti is viewed as a more attractive investment option in the current market environment, especially during price dips, which may yield better returns.
See More
Quantum Computing Rises, Alphabet Becomes Investment Favorite
- Quantum Economic Potential: Analysts at Boston Consulting Group estimate that quantum computing could generate up to $850 billion in global economic value by 2040, highlighting its significance in future technology and attracting investor interest.
- Stock Performance Comparison: As of mid-October 2025, shares of IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and D-Wave Quantum surged by 6,200% over the past 12 months; however, these stocks face historical challenges, indicating market over-optimism regarding quantum computing.
- Investor Preference Shift: Despite the impressive performance of pure-play quantum stocks, billionaire investors prefer Alphabet due to its multiple profitable business segments and active involvement in quantum computing, showcasing its long-term investment value.
- Alphabet's Market Advantages: Alphabet commands approximately 90% of global internet search traffic and demonstrated a 48% sales growth in Google Cloud, reflecting strong advertising pricing power and competitive advantages in the cloud services market, further solidifying its leadership in quantum computing.
See More
IonQ Reports 202% Revenue Growth to $130 Million in 2025
- Significant Revenue Growth: IonQ achieved $130 million in revenue for 2025, marking a 202% year-over-year increase, primarily driven by an 80% organic revenue growth, establishing it as the first pure-play quantum computing company to surpass $100 million in annual GAAP revenue, underscoring its leadership in the quantum computing sector.
- Optimistic Future Outlook: Management anticipates revenue will further surge to between $225 million and $245 million in 2026, reflecting strong market demand for quantum computing and IonQ's competitive technological edge, despite ongoing profitability challenges.
- Technical Advantage: IonQ's trapped-ion technology has achieved a world-record 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, enabling customers to realize a 10 billion-fold performance increase on the same-sized device, which has attracted over 60% of commercial clients and 30% of international clients, enhancing its market competitiveness.
- Massive Market Potential: Although IonQ reported a net loss of $510.4 million in 2025, McKinsey projects quantum computing revenue will grow from $4 billion in 2024 to $72 billion by 2035, presenting significant growth opportunities for IonQ, albeit with substantial investment risks still in play.
See More
