Rigetti leads £3.5 million UK quantum computing project

Published 22/04/2025, 13:10
Rigetti leads £3.5 million UK quantum computing project

BERKELEY, Calif. - Rigetti UK Limited, a subsidiary of Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI), has been named one of the winners in the Innovate UK’s Quantum Missions pilot competition. The company, currently valued at $2.32 billion, has seen its stock surge over 617% in the past year, though InvestingPro data indicates significant price volatility. The company will spearhead a consortium, including Riverlane and the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), to advance quantum error correction (QEC) in superconducting quantum computers with a £3.5 million grant.

The collaboration will focus on benchmarking and enhancing QEC capabilities, which are essential for the development of large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computing systems. The project’s objective is to address the high error rates and classical control system bottlenecks that currently hamper quantum computing technology. With analyst price targets ranging from $12 to $17 per share, market expectations for this technological advancement appear high. Investors looking for deeper insights can access comprehensive analysis through InvestingPro, which offers exclusive financial metrics and expert research reports.

As part of the initiative, Rigetti will upgrade its quantum computer at the NQCC, deploying a larger 36-qubit processing unit and integrating a new generation control system for improved qubit control and real-time QEC. Riverlane will lead the QEC experiments to achieve key performance improvements, while the NQCC Superconducting Circuits Team will provide system upgrade support and quality assurance.

Dr. Subodh Kulkarni, CEO of Rigetti, emphasized the significance of the collaboration and the advantages of superconducting qubits, which are known for their fast gate speeds and scalability. Steve Brierley, CEO & Founder of Riverlane, also highlighted the project’s potential to make significant strides in quantum error correction performance metrics.

The Quantum Missions pilot competition aims to expedite the development and commercialization of quantum computing and networking technologies. In addition to this project, Rigetti was awarded two other grants under the same competition: a partnership with SEEQC to integrate digital chip-based technology with Rigetti’s 9-qubit Novera QPU, and a collaboration with TreQ, Qruise, Q-CTRL, and Oxford Ionics to establish an open-architecture quantum computing testbed.

Rigetti’s involvement in the UK’s quantum computing ecosystem is extensive, including the launch of the first operational quantum computer at the NQCC and leading a £10 million consortium to deploy one of the first UK-based quantum computers at Oxford Instruments’ facility.

This article is based on a press release statement from Rigetti Computing, Inc. Investors should note that Rigetti is scheduled to report earnings on May 8, 2025. InvestingPro subscribers have access to over 10 additional ProTips and detailed financial analysis, including Fair Value estimates and health scores, essential for making informed investment decisions in volatile quantum computing stocks.

In other recent news, Rigetti Computing announced its selection to participate in DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. This program aims to evaluate the potential of quantum computing to achieve utility-scale operations by 2033. Rigetti will collaborate with Riverlane to refine its Utility-Scale Quantum Computer concept, leveraging its proprietary multi-chip architecture and scalable quantum error correction codes. Meanwhile, IonQ revealed the availability of its IonQ Forte Enterprise quantum computer on Amazon Braket, a service from Amazon Web Services. This collaboration aims to expand the accessibility of quantum computing to developers globally, potentially fostering commercial applications across various industries. IonQ’s efforts reflect its commitment to making quantum computing systems available for practical use, with its technologies now accessible to new and existing customers. Additionally, recent market movements have seen quantum computing stocks, including Rigetti and IonQ, experience significant fluctuations following comments from NVIDIA’s CEO, which initially led to a sell-off but were later clarified, resulting in a rebound. These developments underscore the evolving landscape of the quantum computing sector and the ongoing interest from investors in its potential applications.

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