Rigetti Computing
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Quantum computing |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Founder | Chad Rigetti |
| Headquarters | Berkeley, California , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Subodh Kulkarni (President and CEO) |
| Products | Superconducting quantum integrated circuits, Forest cloud platform, Fab-1 fabrication facility |
| Website | www |
Rigetti Computing, Inc. is a company based in Berkeley, California specializing in the development of superconducting quantum integrated circuits intended for quantum computer applications. Additionally, it provides Forest, a cloud-based platform designed for programming quantum algorithms.
History
Established in 2013 by physicist Chad Rigetti, who previously worked at IBM, Rigetti Computing originated from the startup accelerator Y Combinator in 2014 as an ambitious "spaceshot" venture. Rigetti has contributed to over 140 scholarly works in quantum mechanics and computing fields. The firm also took part in The Alchemist Accelerator program.
By early 2016, the company had created its initial three-qubit quantum processor utilizing aluminum circuitry on silicon substrates. That same year, it secured $24 million in Series A financing led by Andreessen Horowitz, followed by a $40 million Series B round spearheaded by Vy Capital, with involvement from Y Combinator and other investors.
Progressing to eight-qubit quantum processors by 2017, Rigetti introduced Forest 1.0, a platform enabling developers to construct quantum algorithms—marking a significant achievement.
In October 2021, Rigetti revealed intentions to become publicly traded through a SPAC merger valued at approximately $1.5 billion. This transaction aimed to raise $458 million, bringing total funding to $658 million. The investment was targeted at expanding processor capacity from 80 qubits to 1,000 by 2024 and reaching 4,000 qubits by 2026. The SPAC merger finalized on March 2, 2022, with Rigetti debuting on NASDAQ under the ticker RGTI.
Subodh Kulkarni was named president and CEO in December 2022.
In July 2023, the company unveiled an 84-qubit single-chip quantum processor engineered for scalable growth.
By October 2025, Rigetti was reported among several quantum computing companies engaged in discussions with the Trump administration regarding federal funding arrangements tied to equity stakes.
Products and technology
Rigetti Computing operates as a full-stack quantum computing enterprise, encompassing the design and manufacture of quantum chips, integration with control systems, and software development for algorithm construction tailored to these chips.
Forest cloud computing platform
The Forest platform, hosted by Rigetti, offers developers cloud-based access to quantum processors for algorithm design and experimentation. Utilizing Quil (Quantum Instruction Language), Forest supports hybrid quantum-classical computation and allows programming through open-source Python tools. As of June 2017, it facilitated quantum algorithm development via simulation on a 36-qubit chip.
Fab-1
Rigetti manages Fab-1, a rapid prototyping fabrication facility dedicated to designing and producing experimental three-dimensional integrated quantum circuits aimed at qubit hardware development.
Recognition
In 2016, Peter Diamandis, founder of X-Prize, recognized Rigetti as one of the top three leaders in the quantum computing sector alongside IBM and Google. Furthermore, MIT Technology Review listed Rigetti among the 50 smartest companies in 2017.
Locations
The company’s headquarters are located in Berkeley, California, where it maintains development systems and cooling infrastructure. Its Fab-1 fabrication plant is situated nearby in Fremont.