Rigetti Computing Secures $100 Million Federal Funding Amid Revenue Miss

Rigetti Computing finalized an agreement for up to $100 million in milestone-based funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce under the CHIPS Research and Development Office. The funding aims to address hardware bottlenecks in connectivity and refrigeration as the company scales its quantum processing units.

The announcement follows third-quarter 2026 financial results that missed analyst expectations. Rigetti reported revenue of $1.41 million, falling short of the forecasted $3.67 million, and an adjusted loss of 6 cents per share. In response, Needham lowered its price target for the company to $15.00 from $31.00, and Mizuho Securities reduced its target to $17 from $22. Despite the quarterly miss, the company's nine-month revenue of $10.9 million has already surpassed its total revenue for 2025.

Technically, the company is utilizing a modular chiplet architecture to increase qubit counts. Rigetti remains on track to deliver a 108-qubit system to C-DAC in the fourth quarter of 2026, having achieved 99.5% median 2Q gate fidelity on its Cepheus-1-108Q system. The company's roadmap targets a 300-plus qubit system by mid-2028 and a goal of 1,000 physical qubits within three years. Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Bertelsen noted that capital expenditure will remain elevated through 2027 to support these development milestones.