Rigetti Computing (RGTI), a pure-play quantum company, shares closed Friday’s session down more than 7%, falling to $16.65. The drop came after the company’s second-quarter earnings call, where results showed revenue of $1.8 million against operating expenses of $20.4 million. The net loss widened to $39.7 million, with nearly $23 million tied to non-cash losses from complex financial instruments. Investors likely saw the steep gap between costs and revenue as a cause for concern, even though Rigetti holds a cash reserve of about $571.6 million following a recent $350 million equity raise.
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Rigetti Announces Cepheus-1-36Q
At the same time, Rigetti pointed to significant progress on its quantum roadmap, highlighting the release of its newest system called Cepheus-1-36Q. This system marks the company’s most advanced step yet, with 36 qubits connected through a multi-chip design. Importantly, Cepheus-1-36Q achieves a two-fold reduction in error rates compared to its earlier Ankaa-3 machine. In practical terms, that means more reliable results in complex quantum tasks. The new system is already available on Rigetti’s Quantum Cloud Services platform and will also be hosted on Microsoft Azure (MSFT) in the future.
What makes Cepheus-1-36Q stand out is its use of a chiplet-based approach. Rigetti first showed this modular design in 2021, and the current machine now integrates the largest number of chiplets in one system. The company also improved its intermodule coupler and sped up two-qubit gate operations, all of which push performance closer to fault tolerance. Median two-qubit gate fidelity now stands at 99%, a level never before reached by a multi-chip quantum system. Looking forward, Rigetti plans to scale this design further. The company expects to release a 100-plus qubit system before the end of 2025, targeting an even higher median fidelity of 99.5%.
In short, while Friday’s selloff reflected unease with quarterly losses, Rigetti also saw meaningful progress on the technology side. Cepheus-1-36Q demonstrates advances in performance and sets the stage for the next leap to a 100-qubit machine. For investors, the company’s near-term story remains a mix of financial strain and technological progress, but its cash strength and product pipeline offer the foundation for longer-term growth.
Is RGTI Stock a Buy or a Sell?
Despite Friday’s drop, Rigetti continues to hold the Street’s backing with a Strong Buy consensus. The average RGTI stock price target stands at $18.71, implying a 12.37% upside from the current price.
