Rigetti Computing just locked down up to $100 million in federal funding from the US Department of Commerce, part of the CHIPS Act’s push to keep America competitive in quantum computing. The deal comes with an unusual twist: the government isn’t just writing a check. It’s buying a seat at the table.
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Rigetti will issue approximately 7.74 million shares of its common stock to the Commerce Department, valued at roughly $12.92 per share. That gives the government a minority, non-controlling equity stake in the Nasdaq-listed company.
How the money flows
The funding won’t arrive in one lump sum. Rigetti will receive an initial tranche of approximately $43.9 million, with the remaining funds tied to performance milestones. Miss the benchmarks, and future disbursements could be clawed back.
The three R&D projects funded by the award all target scaling challenges in superconducting quantum systems.
This agreement follows a letter of intent signed in May 2026, meaning both sides have been negotiating terms for several months before finalizing the deal.
Part of a much bigger quantum bet
Rigetti’s award is one piece of a $2.013 billion quantum initiative under the CHIPS Act, spread across nine companies. IBM and GlobalFoundries are among the other recipients of notable allocations from the same program.
For Rigetti specifically, the funding represents a significant capital injection relative to the company’s size. Rigetti has been a publicly traded pure-play quantum computing company since going public via SPAC in 2022 under the ticker RGTI.
Dr. Subodh Kulkarni, Rigetti’s CEO, framed the award as central to the company’s broader ambitions.
This award is pivotal for enhancing R&D capabilities, fostering a robust domestic quantum ecosystem, and facilitating the wider adoption of quantum technologies.
What this means for the quantum landscape
The equity component of this deal deserves closer attention. Government agencies taking equity stakes in private-sector tech companies is not standard operating procedure. It creates an alignment of incentives, but it also introduces a dynamic where the Commerce Department has a financial interest in Rigetti’s stock price.
For Rigetti’s existing shareholders, the issuance of 7.74 million new shares means dilution.
With IBM, GlobalFoundries, and Rigetti all receiving CHIPS Act quantum funding, the US is effectively picking its horses in the race toward utility-scale quantum computing.