Berkeley, California, May 12, 2026, 01:27 PDT
- Rigetti saw first-quarter revenue jump to $4.4 million, well above the $1.5 million it logged in the same period last year.
- Operating loss came in at $26.0 million, with research, fabrication, and system investments weighing on the bottom line.
- Eyes are on Rigetti, as investors look for signs that its 108-qubit system—and those customer orders—will translate into more consistent sales.
Rigetti Computing Inc. posted first-quarter revenue that almost tripled. Still, the quantum-computing company recorded a larger operating loss—highlighting the expense of pushing ahead with technology that remains largely limited to research use instead of mainstream commercial deployment.
The clock is ticking. Quantum stocks are back in focus, with earnings season putting small public names under the microscope—are they delivering outside the lab? Rigetti shares ended Monday at $20.51, rising 8.29%, ahead of the company’s post-close results.
Rigetti posted $4.4 million in revenue for the quarter ended March 31, up from $1.47 million the previous year. Operating loss came in at $26.0 million, a jump from $21.6 million. Using its non-GAAP metric—which excludes certain non-cash charges—net loss was $14.7 million.
Chief Executive Subodh Kulkarni said the 108-qubit Cepheus-1-108Q system is now broadly available through Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services, Amazon Braket, Microsoft Azure Quantum, and qBraid. In quantum computing, a qubit serves as the fundamental information unit. Having more qubits lets systems handle bigger calculations—if error rates remain controlled.
Rigetti has built the system out of 12 linked nine-qubit chiplets—a modular approach the company says should simplify scaling up compared to fabricating a single, larger chip. They’re also reporting 99.8% median two-qubit gate fidelity on one of the nine-qubit modules, a key benchmark for accurate quantum operations.
Kulkarni told analysts that scaling up from small prototypes to systems with more than 100 qubits is “extremely complex.” He added the company sees error mitigation—not full fault-tolerant error correction—as central to its near-term strategy. Quantum advantage refers to a quantum computer outperforming a traditional computer on a practical task. The Motley Fool
Rigetti wrapped up March holding $569.0 million in cash, cash equivalents, and available-for-sale investments, with zero debt on its books. That leaves the company with enough liquidity to keep executing on its road map. Still, its 10-Q flagged ongoing losses ahead.
Sales this quarter got a lift from quantum-processing-unit shipments and contracts tied to those deliveries. Rigetti reported sending a nine-qubit Novera QPU to the University of Saskatchewan, adding that it’s fulfilling previously announced Novera orders. That highlights how near-term revenue remains closely linked to delivering systems and landing business from government or research clients.
Rigetti’s looking to put as much as $100 million into the United Kingdom across the next few years, targeting a system topping 1,000 qubits. Kulkarni, speaking on the call, said they’ll allocate funds to staff, hardware, facilities, and scaling up the company’s UK footprint.
The warning is straightforward: Rigetti remains in the tech-development stage, and according to its filing, there’s no scalable business model in place yet. The company flagged that it’s previously missed or adjusted technology milestones—and there’s a chance it won’t meet upcoming targets, or could miss them entirely.
The competitive landscape is shifting. On Monday, Quantum Computing Inc. posted first-quarter revenue near $3.7 million, with a net loss coming in at $4.1 million—acquisitions gave results a lift. D-Wave Quantum is set to release its own earnings before markets open Tuesday.
For Rigetti, a narrow revenue beat isn’t the story right now. What matters: customers sticking around, still paying for hardware and cloud access as the company works to raise both fidelity and scale. With extra cash on hand, Rigetti has a cushion. Now, the market’s looking for signs that the company is making that time count.
