Rigetti is the next NVIDIA.
You've been looking at the company wrong.
Anthony Lawrence is the CEO of Light Rider, a Rigetti partner. He insists that Rigetti is NOT a quantum computing company but rather that it is a quantum processing unit (QPU) company. Let’s look at the facts:
At the top of the home page, we see: “Quantum. Quick. | Our 9-qubit QPU is ready to ship today Order Yours”
Just below that, we see the Novera QPU in the site’s top navigation menu, along with “why,” “what,” “about,” “careers,” and “investors,” but NOT computers
Although a dilution refrigerator shows first, the Novera QPU is prominent right below it
The “what” page reminds us that Rigetti has its own fab for fabricating chips
The “what” page also mentions control systems, the Quantum Cloud Services platform (QCS), and software, but NOT computers
The “Novera” page mentions a “Novera QPU Partner Program,” and that is Rigetti’s only visible partner program
The “Careers” page has a prominent quote about QPUs near the top.
Computer-related announcements (NQCC, undisclosed, C-DAC) never mention a computer brand (e.g., IQM Spark, IBM System Two, QuEra Gemini, etc.)
Quantum computing companies do not make all of their components themselves. They aggregate components, slap a brand name on the computer, and then sell it. Your laptop and smartphone are comprised of multiple brands of components as well, so that’s not a criticism. The difference is that Rigetti does not have a defined computer product line. It does, however, have a defined QPU product line.
Conclusion
The next time a quantum computing company calls itself the next NVIDIA, keep in mind that NVIDIA, at its core, is a chip company. Like Rigetti.
Epilogue
One of the use cases of the Novera QPU is randomness amplification and certification. That’s Light Rider’s interest in it.
Filed under: Quantum Computing • Semiconductor Manufacturing • Enterprise Technology
Image generated by an AI model provided by Microsoft Copilot.