Rigetti Computing saw a meaningful pre-market uptick, with its shares rising 5.7% following an announcement that the company has signed a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for a $100 million award under the CHIPS Act. The award, placed through Rigetti's wholly owned subsidiary Rigetti & Co, LLC, formalizes a Letter of Intent the company disclosed in May 2026 into a binding commitment and resolves months of uncertainty surrounding the arrangement.
The funds are earmarked to underwrite three targeted research and development projects designed to address core obstacles to scaling superconducting quantum systems. According to the company, the initiatives will focus on miniaturizing and integrating readout electronics, expanding cryogenic capacity via a new cryostat architecture, and developing fabrication capabilities for chip designs with high connectivity. Each project is positioned to remove technical bottlenecks that have constrained progress toward larger, more capable quantum processors.
As part of the award's terms, the Department of Commerce will take a minority, non-controlling equity stake in Rigetti. This equity position is a structural element of the agreement and represents a deeper, longer-term alignment between the company and the U.S. government on the technology roadmap. Rigetti's CEO, Dr. Subodh Kulkarni, said the selection by the U.S. government gives the company an opportunity to accelerate putting large-scale quantum computers into the hands of American researchers.
Market context amplified the stock's move. Broader market indices offered little support on the day of the announcement - the S&P 500 was down 0.3%, the Dow Jones fell 0.8%, and the Nasdaq was essentially flat - indicating that Rigetti's pre-market strength was driven primarily by company-specific news rather than a broader equity rally.
Another development that appears to have buoyed sentiment around U.S.-based quantum companies was a decision by NEC, the Japanese technology firm credited with building the world's first superconducting qubit in 1999, to stop all gate-based quantum hardware development. NEC cited insufficient return on investment given the long timelines to commercial viability. Market participants regard NEC's exit from the gate-based hardware space as reducing competitive supply globally, which may benefit U.S.-based pure-play quantum hardware companies.
The combination of a high-value, binding government contract that validates Rigetti's technical trajectory, the withdrawal of a historically significant international competitor from the hardware race, and a generally neutral-to-negative market backdrop that made Rigetti's outperformance stand out, contributed to the stock's pre-open rally. The company is trading well below its 52-week high of $58.15 and above its 52-week low of $12.53, and the CHIPS Act award provides a clear revenue and funding anchor as Rigetti pursues its objective of utility-scale quantum computing.
Key points
- Rigetti signed a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for a $100 million CHIPS Act award, converting a May 2026 LOI into a binding commitment.
- The award funds three R&D projects focused on readout electronics miniaturization and integration, new cryostat architecture to expand cryogenic capacity, and fabrication for high-connectivity chip architectures.
- NEC's exit from gate-based quantum hardware development reduces an international competitor in the hardware space and is viewed as supportive for U.S.-based quantum pure-plays; broader market indices were largely negative or flat, underscoring a company-specific catalyst.
Risks and uncertainties
- The agreement includes a minority, non-controlling equity stake for the Department of Commerce - while signaling alignment, this structural term also changes the company's ownership dynamics.
- The long timelines to commercial viability cited by NEC remain a sector-wide challenge, reflecting uncertainty around returns on investment for gate-based quantum hardware development.
- Market conditions were broadly neutral to negative on the announcement day, and Rigetti's stock remains well below its 52-week high, indicating continued valuation volatility.