Rigetti Computer(NASDAQ:RGTI) was one of the hottest quantum computing Stocks in 2025 as the company hits some major hardware milestones this year. This included the introduction of the industry’s largest multi-chip quantum computer and the introduction of a 100+-qubit chiplet system with 99.5% accuracy (a measure of accuracy in quantum computing). Rigetti plans to launch a 150+ qubit system with 99.7% accuracy in late 2026 and a 1,000+ qubit system with 99.8% accuracy in late 2027.
The company also had some commercial success. It has received two orders totaling $5.7 million for Novera quantum computing systems, which it will deliver in the first half of 2026. Meanwhile, a $5.8 million, three-year contract was awarded by the Air Force Research Laboratory to develop a superconducting quantum network in collaboration with Dutch quantum computing company QphoX. Rigetti was also one of the first companies to join the group. Nvidia(NASDAQ:NVDA) NVQLink platform for integrating quantum computers and artificial intelligence supercomputers.
But Rigetti suffered a setback when it was not one of the first 11 companies selected by the US government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to advance to the second phase of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. The program was created to determine whether companies are on the right track to building a fault-tolerant quantum computer within the next decade.
One of Rigetti’s biggest advantages is that its superconducting qubits are fast; these are estimated to be 10,000 times faster than those used. ionQ. However, when it comes to quantum computing, 99.5% accuracy is considered extremely error-prone. In fact, data scientists do not recommend applying other error mitigation techniques until the hardware reaches 99.9% fidelity.
With minimal revenue and technology considered error-prone, Rigetti is a highly speculative stock that carries a lot of risk. But there is a less risky way to play in the industry.
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During IBM’s(NYSE: IBM) Although it is known as an old technology company, it is actually transforming itself into a company that prioritizes quantum computing. It also abandoned its low-gross margin information technology infrastructure service business and spun it into another business. Kyndryl In 2021. It is not particularly interested in quantum computing as a side project. Alphabet or Microsoft.
IBM is actually attacking quantum computing on two different fronts. It prioritizes quality over quantity with its new 120-qubit Nighthawk chip. The company has redesigned the chip layout to increase the connections it hopes will help achieve quantum advantage, that is, solving real problems better or cheaper than today’s supercomputers. The chip can solve problems “requiring up to 5,000 two-qubit gates,” a major milestone in quantum computing; because this is the level that puts it above today’s classical supercomputers. The company aims to reach 10,000 doors (operations) by 2027. Nighthawk is the chip that IBM intends to use with IBM Cloud to run advanced simulations in the coming years.
At the same time, IBM also introduced a more experimental chip called Loon to help develop a fault-free, fault-tolerant quantum computer. This chip is more specialized than Nighthawk and can reset qubits without stopping during a calculation. IBM aims for Loom to be the backbone of Starling, the world’s first large-scale, error-free quantum computer, in 2029.
IBM is also considering taking a page out of Nvidia’s book on how Nvidia’s CUDA software platform has created a moat around graphics processing units. IBM created the Qiskit software platform for quantum research. Although open source, it is optimized for IBM hardware, unlike CUDA, which is proprietary.
IBM’s core business is still growing solidly, while generating tons of operating cash flow that it can pour into quantum computing research. This makes IBM a much better risk-reward play than cash-guzzling Rigetti.
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Geoffrey Seiler They have positions in the alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, International Business Machines, IonQ, Kyndryl, Microsoft and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a feature disclosure policy.
