"‘Quantum Nvidia’ Rigetti’s first-quarter revenue tripled, but losses widened—how much longer until quantum computing becomes commercialized?"

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Revenue tripled, but the "Quantum Nvidia" Rigetti's stock price fell after hours.

On May 11, quantum computing company Rigetti Computing released its Q1 2026 financial report after US market hours.

In terms of revenue, Rigetti's Q1 revenue reached $4.4 million, tripling year-over-year, surpassing FactSet analyst expectations of $4.09 million. Adjusted loss per share was 4 cents, matching analyst forecasts. Meanwhile, the quarterly loss expanded. Operating loss in Q1 was $26 million, higher than $22 million for the same period last year. R&D expenses were nearly $20 million, accounting for the majority of the operating loss.

After the earnings release, Rigetti's stock price fell 1.5% after hours, with the decline later narrowing to about 0.2%. Earlier, the stock had surged 8.3% during the regular trading day; quantum computing peers IonQ and D-Wave Quantum were up 15% and 6.5% respectively, with the entire sector strengthening ahead of earnings week.

The market reacted calmly, with no significant sell-off. Analysts believe this stability may stem from the earnings report lacking surprises and meeting market expectations.

New system launches, but "surprises" are limited

The core highlight of the report is the official launch of Rigetti's previously announced Cepheus-1-108Q quantum system.

According to CEO Subodh Kulkarni, the system is now connected to Amazon Braket, Microsoft Azure Quantum, and Rigetti's own cloud service platform. The system launched in April this year, ending months of uncertainty—Rigetti had previously delayed the original schedule in January citing "the need for further technical optimization."

In terms of performance, the company expects the system to reach a median two-qubit gate fidelity of 99.5% within this year. Fidelity is a key metric for quantum computational accuracy and stability: the higher the value, the lower the error rate.

However, as the system launch news had already been made public, market reaction was limited.

Losses expand, "burning cash" still the main theme

Behind revenue growth, Rigetti's losses are also expanding.

In Q1, operating loss reached $26 million, higher than the $22 million of last year. R&D expenses approached $20 million, accounting for the bulk of operating losses.

For a company that has yet to achieve annual profitability and whose revenue is still in the millions, cash reserves are critical. By quarter-end, Rigetti held $5.69 million in cash, cash equivalents, and available-for-sale investments, accounting for 87% of total assets, which the company termed "strong cash position," and had zero debt on the books. In comparison, the number last year was $5.9 million, taking up 88% of total assets.

Simply put: Rigetti's quarterly spending far exceeds its income, relying on cash reserves to stay afloat. This pattern is common in the quantum computing industry, but it also means the company is heavily reliant on outside financing and capital markets.

Betting on the UK, 1,000-qubit system on the agenda

While burning cash, Rigetti is also ramping up long-term planning.

The company announced it will invest $100 million in the UK to "accelerate quantum computing development," and plans to deploy a quantum computer locally within three to four years.

The planned system will have over 1,000 physical qubits—more than nine times that of the existing Cepheus system (108 qubits). 1,000 qubits has always been a key milestone on Rigetti's roadmap.

However, the roadmap has always been subject to changes. Rigetti originally planned to launch the 1,000-qubit system between 2024 and 2025, but technical challenges and supply chain issues forced the schedule to be pushed back.

More noteworthy, the company's strategic focus has quietly shifted—from simply pursuing qubit counts to "fidelity-driven scaling," that is, first ensuring the hardware meets specific performance benchmarks before expanding system size.

Kulkarni stated clearly on last quarter's earnings call: "Our focus is achieving truly commercially meaningful quantum advantage, not chasing superficial milestone numbers."

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