Four chips. That's what separates Rigetti's new quantum computer from the pack.
While competitors chase ever-larger monolithic processors, Rigetti says its modular approach reached 99.5% median two-qubit gate fidelity on Cepheus-1-36Q—the industry's first four-chiplet quantum system. The Berkeley company halved error rates in six months, even as it posted a $39.7 million net loss last quarter.
The timing is key. Quantum hardware faces a manufacturing crunch: bigger chips are exponentially harder to produce. Rigetti's answer is to link smaller, easier-to-fabricate chiplets—the same playbook that reshaped classical computing decades ago.
"Quadrupling our chiplet count and significantly decreasing error rates is the clear path towards quantum advantage and fault tolerance," CEO Dr. Subodh Kulkarni said.
The Speed Advantage Nobody Talks About
Here's what often gets lost in the quantum debate: according to Kulkarni, superconducting systems execute gates roughly 1,000× faster than ion traps or neutral atoms. Speed matters when you're racing decoherence—when quantum states collapse before the calculation finishes.
Rigetti introduced multi-chip processors in 2021, achieving entanglement across chip boundaries. Now, with Cepheus-1-36Q available on its cloud and an Azure launch imminent, the company is doubling down.
The upgrades read like a wish list: optimized two-qubit gates that run faster with fewer errors; improved inter-module couplers using multilayer chip designs; greater uniformity thanks to the modular architecture.
Translation? Build quantum computers the way semiconductors build processors—using proven, scalable methods rather than one-off heroics.
Cash Cushion Versus Cash Burn
The elephant in the lab: $1.8 million in quarterly revenue against $20.4 million in operating expenses. The $39.7 million net loss included $22.8 million in non-cash losses from derivative warrants and earn-out liabilities.
Yet Rigetti sits on $571.6 million in cash with zero debt, buoyed by a $350 million equity raise. That's runway for years at the current burn—so long as investor faith in the quantum promise holds.
The contrast is stark: technical milestones keep landing; financial sustainability remains farther out.
What's Actually at Stake
Rigetti expects to ship a 100+ qubit system holding 99.5% fidelity by year-end. If it hits that mark, it's a validation of chiplets as the scaling path. If not, the modular bet takes a hit.
The company says it's run quantum computers over the cloud since 2017—longer than many rivals have existed. It fabricates at Fab-1, described as the industry's first dedicated quantum device facility. Its 9-qubit Novera QPU, launched in 2023, already serves R&D teams that need on-premises hardware.
But here's the uncomfortable truth: quantum firms regularly promise imminent breakthroughs. Rigetti's difference? It isn't trying to reinvent manufacturing; it's adapting what already works.
The four-chiplet Cepheus-1-36Q isn't just another small step. It's a wager that quantum's future will look more like today's multi-core processors than tomorrow's monoliths. Whether that pays off hinges on those 100+ qubits arriving as promised—and on whether demand beyond research labs is ready when they do.
