BERKELEY, Calif., July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rigetti Computing, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGTI) (“Rigetti” or the “Company”), a pioneer in full-stack quantum-classical computing, today announced that it has achieved its mid-year performance milestone of 99.5% median two-qubit gate* fidelity on its modular 36-qubit system, a 2x reduction in median two-qubit gate error rate from Rigetti’s previous best results on its 84-qubit single chip Ankaa™-3 system. Composed of four 9-qubit chips (“chiplets”) tiled together, ...

Core Insights - Quantum computing is approaching real-world applications, attracting investor interest in companies like Rigetti Computing (RGTI) and IonQ (IONQ) that are developing future computational power [1][2] - Both companies are in a competitive race to scale quantum systems, targeting government and enterprise contracts [2] Price Performance & Valuation - Year-to-date, shares of Rigetti and IonQ have decreased by 40.3% and 35.9%, respectively [5] - IonQ appears more attractive from a valuation perspective, with a price/book ratio of 15.56 compared to Rigetti's 20.57 [6] Core Technology - Rigetti utilizes superconducting qubits, which are silicon-based circuits, allowing for scalability and faster innovation through its fab facility [8] - IonQ employs trapped-ion technology, which offers high coherence and low error rates, operating near room temperature for enhanced precision [10] Business Model - Rigetti's vertically integrated model controls the entire quantum stack, generating revenue from QPU sales, cloud access, and R&D contracts, with total revenues of $10.8 million in 2024 [11][12] - IonQ follows a cloud-first strategy, primarily earning from quantum computing-as-a-service (QCaaS) and professional services, with total revenues of $43.1 million in 2024 [12] Roadmap & Growth Strategy - Rigetti aims to enhance its quantum systems, planning to launch a 36-qubit modular system by mid-2025 and a 100+ qubit system by year-end [13] - IonQ is focused on scaling its systems and expanding its QCaaS model across industries, leveraging exclusive tech licenses for a strong IP position [13] Market Outlook - The quantum computing market is projected to grow from $1.3 billion in 2024 to $5.3 billion by 2029, with superconducting systems expected to dominate volume deployments [14] - Both companies are positioned for growth, but Rigetti has a better growth potential reflected in its Zacks Growth score of 'D' compared to IonQ's 'F' [19] Financial Estimates - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Rigetti's 2025 sales implies a year-over-year growth of 34.57%, while IonQ's estimate suggests a growth of 97.34% [15][17] - For 2025, Rigetti's loss per share is projected at $1.09, while IonQ's is expected to be $1.05 [12][17] Investment Appeal - Rigetti's full-stack control and technical credibility cater to government and research sectors, but it faces high valuation and modest growth [20] - IonQ, with larger cash reserves and a scalable model, presents stronger revenue growth and an aggressive roadmap for market expansion [20]