US Government Reviews Up to $100 Million for Quantum Computing Firms Amid Insider Sales

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (RGTI) has signed a non-binding letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s CHIPS for America R&D program to potentially secure up to $100 million (approximately ₩130 billion) in funding over the next three years. Under the proposed arrangement, the Department of Commerce would acquire an equity stake commensurate with its investment when funds are disbursed. Rigetti disclosed that it plans to deploy this potential capital to tackle critical technical challenges in scaling up its superconducting quantum-computing systems. Meanwhile, company insider Michael S. Clifton reduced his derivatives exposure by selling a portion of his common shares and warrants after exercising warrants between May 21 and June 3, though he continues to hold a substantial position in common stock.

In its Q1 2026 financial results released May 11, Rigetti reported approximately $4.4 million in revenue and announced the general commercial availability of its 108-qubit superconducting quantum system, Cepheus-1-108Q. This system is accessible via major cloud platforms such as Amazon Braket and Microsoft Azure Quantum. Several brokerages have recently reaffirmed their buy ratings and price targets on Rigetti, maintaining coverage of the company.

Founded in 2013 and based in Berkeley, California, Rigetti specializes in quantum computing. The company designs and manufactures superconducting qubit–based quantum integrated circuits and processors in-house, offering cloud services to enterprises and research institutions. Superconducting quantum computing—alongside efforts by Google, IBM and others—has been designated a key next-generation computing field under the U.S. CHIPS Act R&D support, and global competition is heating up around large-scale system implementation and error-correction technologies.