New York, March 19, 2026, 7:11 PM EDT
Rigetti Computing shares dropped Thursday, last quoted at $15.41, down 1.7% in late action as investors continued trimming positions in quantum-computing stocks. IonQ slid about 1.5%, while D-Wave Quantum lost close to 2.5%.
This comes just two days after Britain rolled out its quantum initiative—up to 2 billion pounds—within a larger AI and quantum commitment totaling 2.5 billion pounds. Jonathan Legh-Smith, executive director at UKQuantum, described the procurement pledge as “a particularly important signal” for industry investment. GOV.UK
Rigetti shares haven’t seen a spark lately, as investors look for fresh company news. The investor site hasn’t posted an update since March 4, when Rigetti logged $1.9 million in Q4 revenue, $7.1 million for the year, and reported $589.8 million sitting in cash, equivalents, and investments. CEO Subodh Kulkarni pointed to “growing” demand for on-premises quantum systems from government and research, noting some Novera orders would help drive “significant first-quarter year-over-year revenue growth.” Rigetti Investors
Everything still hinges on getting machines out the door. Back in January, Rigetti landed an $8.4 million order from India’s C-DAC for a 108-qubit system—delivery expected in the second half of 2026. One qubit (that’s a quantum bit) forms the core building block of these setups.
Rigetti has pointed to technical gains as part of its pitch, saying it achieved 99.9% two-qubit gate fidelity on a prototype. Gate fidelity, for reference, gauges the frequency of correct results from a quantum operation.
Still, valuation is a sticking point. Back in November, Benchmark’s David Williams told Reuters, “the valuation on quantum names is more of an art than science.” Reuters
Competition hangs in the air. Britain’s March 17 package called out IonQ’s Cambridge tie-up, and IonQ shares slipped Thursday as well—clear evidence that this sector jolt isn’t sparing anyone.
The risk scenario looks clear-cut. In its annual filing, Rigetti flagged that chasing government contracts isn’t cheap—and those deals can be cut short. Product launches might slip, dragging out revenue. Plus, if R&D bills climb or funding dries up, the company could have to raise cash ahead of schedule.
Execution is now in the spotlight. Britain’s support package could boost sentiment in the longer run, but Thursday’s trading told a different story—policy backing didn’t give Rigetti shares much lift.
