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BERKELEY, Calif., March 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rigetti Computing, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGTI) (Rigetti or the Company), a pioneer in full-stack quantum-classical computing, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2023.

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Financial Highlights

Business Updates

Wins Innovate UK Competition to Deliver 24-Qubit Quantum Computing System to NQCC In February 2024, Rigetti was awarded a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) grant from Innovate UK and funded by the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) to develop and deliver a quantum computer to the NQCC. As part of the project, Rigetti proposes to develop and deploy a 24-qubit quantum computer based on the Companys Ankaa-class architecture. The proposed system is planned to be deployed at NQCCs Harwell Campus, which is expected to open later this year and will serve as NQCCs landmark facility to support quantum computing research in the UK.

Since deploying our first UK-based quantum computer in 2022, we have had the privilege of collaborating with the UKs talented quantum computing research community. We believe building a system at the NQCC could enable even more innovative discoveries to deepen our understanding of how to improve superconducting quantum computers with the goal of solving practical problems currently intractable by classical resources alone, said Dr. Subodh Kulkarni, Rigetti CEO.

On-Premise QPU Capabilities Mature with Novera QPU Launch In December 2023, Rigetti launched the Novera QPU (quantum processing unit), a 9-qubit QPU based on the Companys Ankaa-class chip architecture. The Novera QPU is Rigettis first commercially available QPU. After identifying an emerging market of researchers needing hands-on access to a quantum computer with high performing qubits, Rigetti made the strategic decision to meet the anticipated growing demand with its in-house quantum foundry capabilities and years of experience building 9-qubit QPUs for internal R&D. Rigetti designs and manufactures its QPUs at Fab-1, the industrys first dedicated and integrated quantum device and manufacturing facility, located in Fremont, California. Rigetti has now completed two Novera QPU sales, both to leading national labs. The first sale was to the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center (SQMS) led by Fermilab in the second quarter of 2023 as part of the Companys partnership with SQMS as its lead industry partner.

QPU Sales Grow with Delivery of Novera QPU to AFRL In the third quarter of 2023, Rigetti delivered its second Novera QPU to the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) Information Directorate as part of the Companys Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The IDIQ contract enables AFRL to harness Rigettis fabrication capabilities for quantum networking hardware research and development.

A key objective of AFRL's Information Directorate quantum networking program is to develop interfaces between leading quantum technologies to enhance the functionality, scalability, and application space of quantum networking hardware. This includes innovating new interfaces to enable the operation of superconducting qubit platforms with telecom light," said Matthew LaHaye, Senior Research Physicist at AFRL Information Directorate. AFRL researchers plan to utilize the Novera QPU, in conjunction with photonic integrated circuitry, for novel investigations of light delivery and collection in the control and measurement of superconducting quantum processors. This work will entail fundamental studies of light-matter interactions and engineering of new, reduced-footprint techniques for cryogenic optical i/o, LaHaye added.

Awarded Innovate UK Grant to Advance Quantum Machine Learning Techniques for Finance Rigetti is continuing its efforts to develop quantum computing solutions for financial institutions. Rigetti was awarded an Innovate UK grant with the aim to develop quantum machine learning techniques to enable financial institutions to more effectively process, interpret, and make decisions with complex data streams. Joining Rigetti in this project is Amazon Web Services (AWS), Imperial College London, and Standard Chartered.

Awarded Phase 2 of DARPA Quantum Benchmarking Program Building on the work completed in Phase 1 of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Quantum Benchmarking program aiming to develop a resource estimation framework to provide insight into the requirements of a superconducting quantum computing system necessary for solving large-scale, complex problems, Rigetti was awarded Phase 2, the goal of which is refining and optimizing the estimates for selected utility-scale problems, delivering new upper bounds on these requirements. Phase 2 is expected to be heavily focused on researching fault-tolerant quantum applications. Of particular interest are dynamical chemistry simulations and modeling the dynamics of quantum systems. The University of Technology Sydney, Aalto University, and the University of Southern California will continue to be project partners in Phase 2.

Partners with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Riverlane to Integrate and Benchmark Rigetti Quantum Computers with ORNLs Summit Supercomputer Recently, Rigetti announced that it is partnering with Riverlane and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to work to improve HPC-quantum integration. To develop the integration of quantum computers into HPC environments, the project partners plan to build the first-ever benchmarking suite for measuring the performance of a joint HPC + quantum system, to be run on ORNLs Summit supercomputer. For the quantum components, researchers plan to use simulated hardware based on key elements of Riverlanes quantum error correction stack and real remote hardware located at Rigettis headquarters in California.

Technology Roadmap and QPU Performance Milestones

Deploys 84-Qubit Ankaa-2 System with a 2.5X Increase in Error Performance Following the internal deployment of the 84-qubit Ankaa-1 system in March 2023, Rigettis 84-qubit Ankaa-2 system was made publicly available in December 2023 making it the Companys highest qubit count QPU available to the public. In addition to the new chip architecture that features a square lattice and tunable couplers, Rigetti implemented several technology updates to the system, including a new chip fabrication process, new printed circuit board technology, and electronics improvements, that contributed to Ankaa-2 achieving a 98% median 2-qubit gate fidelity a 2.5X increase in error performance compared to the Companys previous QPUs.

Building on Performance Success of Ankaa-2; Announces Ankaa-3 Launch Plan The Company plans to develop and deploy its anticipated 84-qubit Ankaa-3 system with the goal of achieving a 99% median 2-qubit gate fidelity by the end of 2024, and to develop the 336-qubit Lyra system thereafter.

We are confident in our ability to build better performing QPUs, as evidenced by our impressive Ankaa-2 performance. We believe we have laid the groundwork for building scalable, high performing QPUs with our proven modular chip architecture and the innovative Ankaa chip design that resulted in a 98% median 2-qubit gate fidelity. We are excited for the anticipated development and deployment of our Ankaa-3 system, which we believe will demonstrate the excellence and ingenuity of our engineering, software, and hardware teams, said David Rivas, Rigetti CTO.

We believe our leadership and expertise in full-stack quantum systems paired with our strong collaborations with researchers around the world across academia, industry, and government, puts us in a unique position to tackle the challenges of building a quantum computer capable of addressing real-world problems. With Rigetti QPUs now in two research labs internationally, we are even more optimistic that practical quantum computing is in reach, said Dr. Kulkarni.

Conference Call and Webcast Rigetti will host a conference call later today, March 14, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. ET, or 2:00 p.m. PT, to discuss its fourth quarter 2023 and full year 2023 financial results.

You can listen to a live audio webcast of the conference call at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/5yuqcscr/ or the Events & Presentations section of the Companys Investor Relations website at https://investors.rigetti.com/. A replay of the conference call will be available at the same locations following the conclusion of the call for one year.

To participate in the live call, you must register using the following link: https://register.vevent.com/register/BI50b5aaacc3644ccfad45c9fcfbb1bb2e. Once registered, you will receive dial-in numbers and a unique PIN number. When you dial in, you will input your PIN and be routed into the call. If you register and forget your PIN, or lose the registration confirmation email, simply re-register to receive a new PIN.

About Rigetti Rigetti is a pioneer in full-stack quantum computing. The Company has operated quantum computers over the cloud since 2017 and serves global enterprise, government, and research clients through its Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform. The Companys proprietary quantum-classical infrastructure provides high performance integration with public and private clouds for practical quantum computing. Rigetti has developed the industrys first multi-chip quantum processor for scalable quantum computing systems. The Company designs and manufactures its chips in-house at Fab-1, the industrys first dedicated and integrated quantum device manufacturing facility. Learn more at http://www.rigetti.com.

Contacts Rigetti Computing Investor Contact: IR@Rigetti.com

Rigetti Computing Media Contact: press@rigetti.com

Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this communication may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements with respect to the Companys expectations with respect to the commercialization of the Novera 9-qubit QPU, customer adoption of the Novera 9-qubit QPU and use and research by customers of the Novera 9-qubit QPU, expectations related to the Innovate UK SBRI award to develop and deliver a 24-qubit quantum computer to the NQCC and NQCCs expected use of the system and potential to enable even more innovative discoveries to deepen understanding of how to improve superconducting quantum computers with the goal of solving practical problems currently intractable by classical resources alone, expectations related to the Innovate UK grant to work with AWS, Imperial College London and Standard Chartered to develop quantum machine learning techniques to enable financial institutions to more effectively process, interpret, and make decisions with complex data streams, expectations related to the DARPA Benchmarking Program with respect to Rigettis Phase 2 award to refine and optimize the estimates for selected utility-scale problems and deliver new upper bounds on those requirements, expectations related to the collaboration with Riverlane and ORNL to work to improve HPC-quantum integration, expectations related to the Companys ability to achieve milestones including developing the Ankaa-3 84-qubit system with at least 99% median 2-qubit fidelity and the 336-qubit Lyra system on the anticipated timing or at all; the Companys expectations with respect to its engineering, software, and hardware teams; the Companys expectations with respect to its unique position to tackle the challenges of building a quantum computer capable of addressing real-world problems and practical quantum computing; the Companys expectations with respect to the timing of next generation systems; the Companys expectations with respect to the anticipated stages of quantum technology maturation, including its ability to develop a quantum computer that is able to solve a practical, operationally relevant problem significantly better, faster, or cheaper than a current classical solution and achieve quantum advantage on the anticipated timing or at all. These forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company and its management, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: the Companys ability to achieve milestones, technological advancements, including with respect to its technology roadmap, help unlock quantum computing, and develop practical applications; the ability of the Company to obtain government contracts successfully and in a timely manner and the availability of government funding; the potential of quantum computing; the ability of the Company to expand its QPU sales; the success of the Companys partnerships and collaborations; the Companys ability to accelerate its development of multiple generations of quantum processors; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company or others; the ability to maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and attract and retain management and key employees; costs related to operating as a public company; changes in applicable laws or regulations; the possibility that the Company may be adversely affected by other economic, business, or competitive factors; the Companys estimates of expenses and profitability; the evolution of the markets in which the Company competes; the ability of the Company to implement its strategic initiatives, expansion plans and continue to innovate its existing services; the expected use of proceeds from the Companys past and future financings or other capital; the sufficiency of the Companys cash resources; unfavorable conditions in the Companys industry, the global economy or global supply chain, including financial and credit market fluctuations and uncertainty, rising inflation and interest rates, disruptions in banking systems, increased costs, international trade relations, political turmoil, natural catastrophes, warfare (such as the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and related sanctions and the state of war between Israel and Hamas and related threat of a larger conflict), and terrorist attacks; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the section entitled Risk Factors and Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and other documents filed by the Company from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements other than as required by applicable law. The Company does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations.

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Rigetti Computing Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results - GlobeNewswire

Companies such as Google and IBM have been working on quantum computers (QCs) for well over a decade. They assert QCs will be an order of magnitude faster when pitted against traditional computers. And, according to experts, one aspect of computing theyll have a profound impact on is cybersecurity.

While breakthroughs about QCs hit newswires occasionally, they still remain firmly in the domain of research. In fact, Google and XPRIZE have just announced a $5-million-dollar competition to help find a real-world use of the technology.

But if QCs arent here yet, why should businesses invest in defending against them?

David McNeely, CTO at Delinea, which provides privileged access management (PAM) solutions, believes while the immediate risk appears low, its about time companies start assessing their options.

Read |Investopia 2023: A look at quantum computing and AI

For one, he says, quantum computing is advancing rapidly. According to some theories, it is growing much faster than traditional computing, which follows Moores Law, says McNeely. If we take into account the increased financial investments made into quantum technology, the prospect of an exponentially faster, usable quantum computer by 2030 becomes more of a possible reality.

Commenting on whats at stake, McNeely says encryption secures our online interactions, but the rise of (QCs) poses a significant threat as these powerful machines have the potential to break current encryption algorithms.

Greg Welch, CEO, CyberProtonics, which develops quantum-proof cybersecurity solutions, agrees. Its not a question of if Q-day is coming, its a matter of when. Q-Day is the hypothetical day when QCs will be able to crack our public encryption systems.

According to Welch, Q-day threats arent just for corporate networks. He argues that with the prevalence of remote work, the new edge of the corporate network is the remote office.

Read: UAE identifies 10 future trends for the next decade

Any internet-connected device at home can be impacted by Q-day attacks, from streaming services to connected IoT devices and your home WiFi connected devices, says Welch. Organizations encrypting all their data at the source of creation can help those [remote] users secure their entire connected home.

From a security perspective, McNeely says it is always a good idea to stay one step ahead of cyber criminals.

He agrees that while QCs cant yet break current encryption, its reasonable to assume that hackers with resources, such as nation-state actors, are already thinking about how they will exploit this new technology.

He backs his argument pointing to a 2022 Deloitte poll, which highlighted the risk of criminals adopting the hack/harvest now, decrypt later (HNDL) technique. HNDL involves hackers stealing the encrypted data now, and then waiting until they can run it through a QC when available.

David Boast, general manager, MENA at Endava which among other things helps businesses secure their software agrees with this view. He says HNDL attacks warrant that organizations take a critical look at their present-day infrastructures and security measures.

Read |Investopia 2023: Quantum computing investment is the new economy next 2 years

Welch quantifies the threat pointing to estimates that note that theres a cyberattack every 11 seconds. He says the average financial impact of an attack for an affected organization is expected to be upwards of $10 million, adding up to a staggering $10.5 trillion.

Organizations should therefore invest now to protect against breaches and recognize encryption as just a part of a multi-layered security environment that must account for people, processes, and technologies, suggests Boast.

In that aspect, McNeely shares that the industry already has the technology to secure data with new types of encryption. He says the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is currently working on standardizing post-quantum cryptography algorithms.

In fact, he says there are several promising candidates. He particularly points to IBMs CRYSTALS-Kyber algorithm, which is based on a mathematical problem that is much harder for QCs to solve. This makes it more resistant to both conventional and quantum attacks.

As per Boast, the fear of quantum threats will breathe life into a healthy market of quantum protection solutions. However, he believes, the actual appetite, pace and need for adoption of quantum-resistant security depends on several factors.

The challenge here will be to identify the right point at which to invest, says Boast. As with any rapidly maturing technology, the cost to adoption can be expected to rapidly decrease, thus almost burdening first movers.

Read: A quantum supremacy breakthrough could transform our world

Furthermore, he says organizations will have a tough time developing the skills necessary to deliver and maintain impactful deployments. Given the severity of the threat, however, he expects providers of critical services, such as BFSI, government entities, and such, to be forced into action.

Vitaliy Trifonov, head of services group at cybersecurity company Group-IB, suggests organizations transition to quantum-secure cryptography gradually. He says they either deploy parallel quantum solutions, do a phased migration, or a complete overhaul.

Regardless of the approach, he insists, its time for organizations to take action. Waiting for quantum-resilient cryptographic standards and regulations may leave organizations vulnerable, says Trifonov. Embracing the quantum era now is essential to safeguard sensitive data and reap its benefits confidently.

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Is it time for companies to quantum-proof their data? - Economy Middle East

Leading the breakthrough are Benedikt Tissot and Guido Burkard, who are using an advanced method to enable the smooth exchange of information between quantum bits (qubits) using photons as messengers.

Thats the promise of quantum computers. But qubits are the building blocks of quantum computers and are very delicate. Theyre like tiny atomic-scale systems that can easily lose their information.

Theyre turning to photons, which make up light, to ferry quantum information between qubits. This can be described as making qubits fly hence the term flying qubits.

We are proposing a paradigm shift from optimising the control during the generation of the photon to directly optimising the temporal shape of the light pulse in the flying qubit, explains Guido Burkard.

Their method revolves around stimulated Raman emissions, a technique that transforms qubits into photons in a highly controlled way.

What sets their approach apart is fine-tuning the light pulses shape rather than just focusing on creating photons.

Its like sending messages over long distances using light instead of wires. In regular computers, we use electrons to carry information. In quantum computers, its about converting qubits into a form that photons can easily carry.

Tissot and Burkard have developed a system with multiple levels of control over the photons. To adjust exactly how, when, and where the information flows.

While using stimulated Raman emissions isnt new, using them to send qubit states directly is groundbreaking. And its not just about sending information its about doing it with precision and accuracy.

We need to consider several aspects, says Tissot: We want to control the direction in which the information flows as well as when, how quickly and where it flows to. Thats why we need a system that allows for a high level of control.

Their work, published in Physical Review Research in February 2024, dives deep into the intricate workings of this method.

Tissot and Burkard are paving the way for a new era in computers, one where the exchange of information between qubits is not just possible but efficient and reliable.

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The power of photons: A quantum leap in computing - Open Access Government

Ethereum is already well-positioned to mitigate the impact of a massive quantum computing attack on the network, according to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

In a March 9 post to Ethereum Research, Buterin discussed what would happen if a quantum emergency happened as early as tomorrow.

Suppose that it is announced tomorrow that quantum computers are available, and bad actors already have access to them and are able to use them to steal users funds, Buterin postulated.

The blockchain would have to hard fork and users would have to download new wallet software, but few users would lose their funds, he added.

Buterin explained that the process of such a hard fork would involve rolling back the Ethereum network to the point where it is clear that large-scale theft was occurring and disabling all traditional transactions from that point.

Ethereum developers would then add a new transaction type which forms part of the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 7560 to allow transactions from smart contract wallets.

When a user makes a transaction from their Ethereum wallet, the signature of that transaction reveals the public key, and in a post-quantum world, this would see the users private key revealed as well.

The new transaction type that forms the core part of the quantum-resist EIP would leverage Winternitz signatures and zero-knowledge proof technologies known as STARKs to ensure that existing wallets are switched to new validation code, he added.

This validation code leverages ERC-4337 account abstraction the underlying technology of smart contract wallets to prevent private keys from being displayed while signing transactions in the future, rendering these accounts immune from a quantum attack.

Related:Ethereum leans into rollup-centric future as Dencun hard fork looms

According to Buterin, users who have never approved a transaction from an Ethereum wallet are already safe from any potential quantum-related exploit, as only the wallet address has ever been made publicly available.

He also added that the infrastructure needed to implement such as hard fork could in principle start to be built tomorrow.

The advent of quantum computing has been a long-feared inflection point for the crypto industry, as a computer capable of breaking blockchain encryption could see once-untouchable user funds stolen in large volumes and at rapid rates.

However, most computer scientists and developers believe that quantum computing is still a ways off, with Google and IBM engineers estimating that quantum computing wont be sufficiently developed until 2029 at the earliest.

Magazine: Google to fix diversity-borked Gemini AI, ChatGPT goes insane:AI Eye

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A 'simple' hard fork could subvert a quantum attack on Ethereum: Vitalik Buterin - Cointelegraph