NEW YORK, May 29, 2026, 06:03 (EDT)
Rigetti Computing rose in early premarket trading on Friday, extending a sharp quantum-stock rally after IBM laid out a $10 billion investment plan for the sector and U.S. funding remained the main catalyst for smaller names. Rigetti closed Thursday at $27.03, up 9.79%, and was quoted at $27.34 at 5:52 a.m. EDT in premarket trading, the period before the regular exchange session.
The move matters now because the trade has packed policy support, long-term technology hopes and small-company risk into one of the market’s most volatile corners. Rigetti has climbed roughly 60% from its May 20 close of $16.88, with Thursday volume of 85.2 million shares following last week’s heavy surge.
Friday is a regular U.S. market day, not a holiday session. Nasdaq’s 2026 calendar lists Memorial Day as the May 25 closure and Juneteenth, on June 19, as the next full U.S. equity market closure.
The latest push came from outside Rigetti. IBM said on Thursday it plans to invest more than $10 billion over five years in quantum computing as it targets a large-scale, fault-tolerant machine by 2029 — “fault-tolerant” meaning designed to keep errors low enough for reliable calculations. Reuters also reported that the U.S. government last week moved to take $2 billion in equity stakes, or ownership stakes, in nine quantum companies, with IBM set to receive half for a new venture called Anderon. Reuters
Rigetti had its own link to the federal push earlier this month. The Berkeley, California-based company said on May 21 it signed a letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce for up to $100 million over three years to speed research into superconducting quantum computers, with the department expected to receive an equity stake. Chief Executive Subodh Kulkarni said the money could help Rigetti tackle “key scaling bottlenecks” and move toward “utility-scale quantum computing.” Rigetti & Co, LLC
Quantum computers use qubits, units of information that can exploit quantum effects, rather than ordinary bits used in classical computers. The pitch is that, once the machines are stable enough, they could speed up certain work in areas such as drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling and cryptography.
The rally was not isolated. Google Finance listed D-Wave Quantum and IonQ, two listed quantum peers, up more than 7% in early trading indications, while Rigetti’s own market value was shown near $9 billion.
A looming public debut is adding another marker for valuations. Honeywell-backed Quantinuum is targeting a valuation of up to $12.7 billion in a U.S. IPO, with plans to sell about 21.05 million shares at $45 to $50 each and list under the symbol QNT, Reuters reported this week.
Rigetti is still an early-revenue company. It reported first-quarter revenue of $4.4 million and an operating loss of $26.0 million, while saying it ended March with $569 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments and no debt. The company also pointed to availability of its 108-qubit system as a product milestone.
But the rally rests on a lot that has not yet happened. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has said practically useful quantum computers may be “five to 10 years away,” and Rigetti’s federal award still depends on definitive agreements; the company has warned that stock issued to the government could dilute existing holders. Reuters
The next test is simple and unforgiving: whether buyers show up after the regular Nasdaq open. A hold above Thursday’s close would keep the policy-driven momentum trade alive; a fade would put the focus back on losses, dilution risk and how quickly Rigetti can turn technical milestones into paying commercial demand.
