General Availability of Cepheus-1-108Q and Strong Technical Performance
Rigetti launched the 108-qubit Cepheus-1-108Q (12 interconnected 9-qubit chiplets) and made it generally available on Rigetti QCS, AWS Braket, Microsoft Azure Quantum and qBraid. Reported median 2-qubit gate fidelity ~99.1% at ~60 ns and median single-qubit fidelity ~99.9%. Prototype and smaller systems demonstrated higher performance (9-qubit: 99.8% 2-qubit fidelity at 40 ns; prototype: up to 99.9% 2-qubit fidelity at 28 ns using adiabatic CZ), validating the chiplet-based scaling approach.
Material Year‑over‑Year Revenue Growth
Q1 2026 revenue of $4.4M versus $1.5M in Q1 2025, driven by on‑premises Novera QPU deliveries and government/research contracts — an approximate +193% year‑over‑year increase.
Strong Balance Sheet and Non‑GAAP Improvement
Ended Q1 2026 with approximately $569M in cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale investments (up from $209.1M year‑ago), no debt, and non‑GAAP net loss improved to $14.7M from $15.3M year‑ago (non‑GAAP loss per share $0.04 vs $0.05), indicating better underlying operating progress excluding noncash volatility.
Growing Customer Traction and Pipeline
Expanded customer adoption across cloud and on‑premises channels (University of Saskatchewan order, multiple Novera QPU sales, government engagements). Management expects the remainder of previously announced $5.7M of Novera purchase orders to be recognized primarily in Q2 2026 and is executing an $8.4M C‑DAC order to be recognized in Q4 2026 after installation.
Strategic Partnerships and International Investment Plan
Strengthened go‑to‑market and technology partnerships (AWS Braket, Azure Quantum, qBraid, Quanta for control systems; engagement with NVIDIA and River Lane on calibration/error‑mitigation). Announced intention to invest up to $100M in the U.K. over several years to accelerate development and expand presence.
Engineering Progress on Scaling Challenges
Identified and mitigated coupling interactions between 2‑level couplers at >100 qubits, shifting the primary limitation to coherence times (current coherence ~25–30 microseconds). Management outlined clear technical levers (chiplet design, materials, fabrication, control improvements) and is targeting fidelity improvements through 2026.