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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT Pursuant
to Section 13
or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):
April 7, 2026
RIGETTI
COMPUTING, INC.
(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
| Delaware |
|
001-40140 |
|
88-0950636 |
(State or Other Jurisdiction
of Incorporation) |
|
(Commission
File Number) |
|
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.) |
| 775
Heinz Avenue, Berkeley,
California |
|
94710 |
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) |
|
(Zip Code) |
(510)
210-5550
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, including area code)
N/A
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report.)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended
to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligations of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
| ¨ |
Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| ¨ |
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ¨ |
Pre-commencement communication pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ¨ |
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of
each class | |
Trading
Symbol(s) | |
Name of each
exchange
on which registered |
| Common
Stock, $0.0001 par value per share | |
RGTI | |
The Nasdaq
Capital Market |
| Warrants,
each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share | |
RGTIW | |
The Nasdaq
Capital Market |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth
company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company x
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant
has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant
to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
| Item 7.01 | Regulation FD Disclosure. |
On April 7, 2026, Rigetti
Computing, Inc. (the “Company”) issued a press release announcing the general availability of its 108-qubit system, Cepheus-1-108Q.
A copy of the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K (this “Current Report”) and is
hereby incorporated by reference.
The information included
in Item 7.01 of this Current Report (including Exhibit 99.1 hereto) is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for
purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to liabilities
of that section, and shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
On April 7, 2026, the Company
announced the Cepheus-1-108Q system deployed through the Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services (QCS®) Platform and Amazon Braket is currently
performing at a 99.1% median two-qubit gate fidelity with a gate speed of ~60 ns and a 99.9% median single-gate fidelity.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits.
Exhibit
No. |
|
Description |
| 99.1 |
|
Press Release issued by
the Company on April 7, 2026. |
| |
|
|
| 104 |
|
Cover Page Interactive
Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document). |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| Date: April 7, 2026 |
RIGETTI COMPUTING, INC. |
| |
|
| |
|
|
| |
By: |
/s/ Jeffrey Bertelsen |
| |
|
Jeffrey Bertelsen |
| |
|
Chief Financial Officer |
Exhibit 99.1
Rigetti Announces General Availability of 108-Qubit
System
Cepheus-1-108Q validates Rigetti’s proprietary chiplet-based
scaling architecture and is now generally available to Rigetti’s customers and partners via the Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services
platform and through Amazon Braket, the quantum computing service by AWS.
Berkeley, CA -- Rigetti Computing, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGTI) (“Rigetti”
or the “Company”), a pioneer in full-stack quantum-classical computing, today announced the general availability of its 108-qubit
quantum computing system, Cepheus™-1-108Q, now accessible to customers and partners via the Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services (QCS®)
Platform and through Amazon Braket, the quantum computing service by AWS.
Cepheus-1-108Q is Rigetti’s highest qubit-count system to date
and the industry’s largest modular quantum computing system, based on Rigetti’s proprietary chiplet-based architecture. The
system comprises twelve interconnected 9-qubit chiplets, tripling the number of qubits and chiplets from Rigetti’s previous 36-qubit
system, Cepheus-1-36Q.
The system is currently performing at a 99.1% median two-qubit gate
fidelity with a gate speed of ~60 ns and a 99.9% median single-gate fidelity. Rigetti is releasing Cepheus-1-108Q now in response to
growing customer interest, and will continue to improve the system performance throughout 2026 as the Company advances on its roadmap.
“Cepheus-1-108Q is a milestone that validates our ambitious
approach to scaling quantum computers," said Dr. Subodh Kulkarni, Rigetti CEO. “Our proprietary chiplet-based architecture
is paving the way toward higher fidelity, higher qubit systems that will ultimately enable fault-tolerant quantum computing.
“We are proud of the progress we have made in delivering a system
at this scale. The innovations we’ve developed while designing this system give us confidence in our vision and approach to building
the next generation of quantum computers. We will continue to improve fidelity as we scale to higher qubit counts and deploy new systems
as we reach important performance milestones while maintaining gate speeds that are roughly 1,000-10,000 times faster than other modalities
such as trapped-ion and neutral-atom systems.”
“The addition of Cepheus-1-108Q to Amazon Braket gives our global
customers another choice as they research quantum computing applications in materials science, optimization, and quantum simulation.
As the first gate-based device on Braket with over 100 qubits, Cepheus-1-108Q delivers improved fidelities that allow customers to push
to wider and deeper circuits,” said Eric Kessler, General Manager, Amazon Braket. "Rigetti was a launch partner for Amazon
Braket, and we're excited to deepen that relationship with this launch. With Cepheus-1-108Q, we bring the third generation of Rigetti
devices to our customers, following Aspen and Ankaa. We remain committed to providing researchers and enterprises around the world with
access to the latest quantum hardware."
Key Technical Advancements
The new system features several significant engineering improvements
designed to maintain fidelity and performance as qubit counts grow:
| ● | Enhanced qubit and coupler design: Optimized chip design
enables fast two-qubit gates and higher fidelity. |
| ● | CZ gates for error correction: Supports high-fidelity
native gates and efficient circuit compilation necessary for quantum error correction and
future fault-tolerant architectures. Rigetti achieved a two-qubit gate fidelity as high as
99.9% at 28 nanoseconds on a prototype system using a proprietary implementation of an adiabatic
CZ gate scheme. These gates are already in use on Cepheus-1-108Q and will continue to improve
as Rigetti incorporates those prototype learnings into larger systems. |
| ● | Upgraded control electronics: A newly engineered control
system delivers superior signal-to-noise ratio for qubit readout. |
| ● | Advanced fabrication process: Rigetti’s Alternating-Bias
Assisted Annealing technique improves qubit frequency targeting and reduces defects, contributing
to higher fidelities. |
During system development, Rigetti refined its architecture to mitigate
coupling interactions between tunable couplers that become more pronounced beyond 100 qubits. These design improvements shifted the primary
performance limitation from coupler behavior to coherence time, a key factor the Company continues to address through innovations in
materials and fabrication.
Roadmap
Rigetti plans to continue to improve the fidelity of its individual
chiplets and expects Cepheus-1-108Q to reach a median 99.5% two-qubit gate fidelity later this year. Rigetti intends to update its technology
roadmap later this year, once it has incorporated the results of this work, including how the Company plans to reach quantum advantage
in about three years.
For more information on Amazon Braket, please visit https://aws.amazon.com/braket/.
About Rigetti
Rigetti is a pioneer in full-stack quantum computing.
Rigetti quantum computers are based on superconducting qubits, which are widely believed to be the leading qubit modality given their
maturity, clear path to scaling, and fast gate speeds. Current Rigetti quantum computing systems achieve gate speeds of 50-70ns, which
is about 1,000 times faster than other modalities such as ion traps and neutral atoms.
The Company operates quantum computers over the cloud through its
Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services (QCS) platform, enabling global enterprise, government, and research clients to pursue R&D. The Company’s
proprietary quantum-classical infrastructure provides high-performance integration with public and private clouds for practical quantum
computing.
Rigetti sells on-premises 9-108 qubit quantum computing systems, supporting
national laboratories and quantum computing centers. Rigetti’s 9-qubit Novera QPU supports a broader R&D community with a high-performance,
on-premises QPU designed to plug into a customer’s existing cryogenic and control systems.
Rigetti developed the industry’s first multi-chip quantum processor
for scalable quantum computing systems. Leveraging this proprietary technology, Rigetti deployed the industry’s largest multi-chip
quantum computer in 2025 with Cepheus-1-36Q, based on four 9-qubit chiplets tiled together. The Company designs and manufactures its
chips in-house at Fab-1, the industry’s first dedicated and integrated quantum device manufacturing facility. Learn more at https://www.rigetti.com/.
Rigetti Computing Media Contact:
press@rigetti.com
Amazon Braket Media Contact:
Mayar Abdelrahim
abmayar@amazon.com
Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this communication may be considered “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements with respect to the Company’s expectations
with respect to its future success and performance, including the Company continuing to improve the system performance throughout 2026
as the Company advances on its roadmap; the chiplet-based architecture paving the way toward higher fidelity, higher qubit systems that
will ultimately enable fault-tolerant quantum computing; the confidence in the Company’s vision and approach to building the next
generation of quantum computers; the improvement to fidelity as the Company scales to higher qubit counts and deploy new systems as we
reach important performance milestones while maintaining gate speeds; expectations for Cepheus 1 108Q to reach a median 99.5% two qubit
gate fidelity later this year; and intentions to update the technology roadmap later this year. These forward-looking statements are
based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company and its management, are inherently uncertain. Factors
that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: the Company’s ability
to achieve milestones, technological advancements, including with respect to its technology roadmap; Company’s ability to deliver
products to customers in time or at all, including actions by customers, such as controls over their facilities and cancelling orders;
the ability of the Company to obtain government and national contracts successfully and in a timely manner and the availability of such
funding; the potential of quantum computing; the success of the Company’s partnerships and collaborations; the Company’s
ability to accelerate its development of multiple generations of quantum processors; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be
instituted against the Company or others; the ability to maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and attract and retain management
and key employees; costs related to operating as a public company; changes in applicable laws or regulations, including those related
to exports; the possibility that the Company may be adversely affected by other economic, business, or competitive factors; the Company’s
estimates of expenses and profitability; the evolution of the markets in which the Company competes; the ability of the Company to implement
its strategic initiatives and expansion plans; the expected use of proceeds from the Company’s past and future financings or other
capital; the sufficiency of the Company’s cash resources; unfavorable conditions in the Company’s industry, the global economy
or global supply chain, including rising inflation and interest rates, deteriorating international trade relations, political turmoil,
natural catastrophes, warfare, and terrorist attacks; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the section entitled “Risk
Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2025 and other documents filed by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially
from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are
cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update
or revise these forward-looking statements other than as required by applicable law. The Company does not give any assurance that it
will achieve its expectations.
