Rigetti Soars as Quantum Computing Sector Hits Overdrive

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) is leading the charge in the quantum computing sector, which has been surging due to three main catalysts. The stock jumped 30% in one day to $22.10 after being trapped in a tight consolidation through mid-May.

The first catalyst was the announcement of record government investments in quantum computing, with the Trump Administration declaring $2 billion to be distributed by way of Commerce Department grants to nine quantum computing firms. The largest grants went to IBM and GlobalFoundries, while Rigetti and other firms received $100 million each.

Rigetti's CEO Subodh Kulkarni stated that the extra capital will help the company tackle its critical scaling challenges and reach its ambitious milestones much faster. The company has already secured an order for a 108-qubit computer from the Center for Development of Advanced Computing of India.

The second catalyst was Rigetti's continued progress towards commercialization, with the launch of its latest generation Cepheus-1-108Q quantum processor. This represents Rigetti's first commercially viable quantum processor and has been welcomed by analysts as a significant milestone.

The third catalyst is Nvidia's (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang's support for quantum computing, who unveiled his open-source AI tool called Ising that aims to turn quantum computers into industrial-scale computers.