RGTIA federal-sized vote of confidence
Rigetti says it signed a letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce for an award of up to $100 million. The money is meant to help accelerate R&D on the gnarly technical problems standing between today’s quantum chips and something that can actually scale.
Why this matters for your portfolio
Quantum computing is still in the “cool demo, unclear business model” phase, so every meaningful source of non-dilutive funding matters. If the deal gets finalized, it could give Rigetti more runway to keep chasing better superconducting quantum computers without leaning as hard on the capital markets every time it needs another science experiment.
The fine print, minus the government jargon
This isn’t the same thing as cash in the bank today — it’s a letter of intent, not a completed check. But it does signal that the U.S. government wants domestic quantum infrastructure to be more than a PowerPoint slide and a lab coat photo op.
Big picture: Rigetti is still a speculative name, but a potential $100 million federal backstop makes the story a lot more interesting than “hope and hype.”