Updated
Updated · Yahoo Finance · Sep 8
Rigetti Wins $100 Million CHIPS Award, Sending Shares Up 7.9%
Updated
Updated · Yahoo Finance · Sep 8

Rigetti Wins $100 Million CHIPS Award, Sending Shares Up 7.9%

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Finance · Sep 8

Summary

  • $100 million in CHIPS Act funding will go to Rigetti under a Commerce Department agreement to speed R&D on superconducting quantum computers.
  • Rigetti shares rose 7.9% by 9:54 a.m. ET after climbing as much as 12.2%, as investors welcomed fresh federal backing for the quantum-computing sector.
  • The Commerce Department will receive a minority, non-controlling equity stake; based on Rigetti's roughly $5 billion market value, that implies about a 2% stake at face value.
  • Rigetti is still early-stage, with just $5.1 million in second-quarter revenue, so the award strengthens its research runway more than it resolves questions about commercial viability.

Insights

Will the government's unprecedented equity stake in a quantum startup redefine the future of private tech ownership?
Can a massive federal lifeline truly overcome the microscopic physical bottlenecks keeping quantum computing from commercial reality?