Quantum Computing Company Rigetti Announces SPAC Deal: What Investors Should Know

A company with a mission to solve the world’s most important and pressing problems is going public with a SPAC merger announced Wednesday.

The SPAC Deal: Rigetti is merging with Supernova Partners Acquisition Co II Ltd SNII in a deal valuing the company at a pro forma equity value of $1.5 billion.

Investors in the PIPE include T. Rowe Price Inc TROW, Bessemer Venture Partners, Franklin Templeton and In-Q-Tel.

The company will trade on the NYSE under the ticker RGTI after the deal is completed.

Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR was announced as a new strategic partner as part of the SPAC merger announcement.

About Rigetti: Full-stack quantum computing company Rigetti has developed a scalable approach to building quantum processors.

The company says scalability is one of the biggest hurdles to bring quantum computing to market. Rigetti introduced scalable superconducting chips in June 2021.

Current partnerships for Rigetti include Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, Astex Pharmaceuticals, DARPA, NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy and Standard Chartered Bank.

Related Link: Exclusive: dMY Technology Group III CEO Talks IonQ SPAC, Quantum Computing

Growth Ahead: Rigetti said its patented multi-chip architecture is the building block of quantum processors, which present an advantage over classical computers.

Many of the world’s top problems could be helped by quantum computing, according to the company.

“Quantum computers process information in a fundamentally different way — solving problems simultaneously as opposed to sequentially — which will allow them, when scaled, to tackle problems of staggering computational complexity at unprecedented speed,” the company said.

Target sectors for quantum computing include biotech companies, clean energy and fintech.

Proceeds from the merger are expected to be used to grow the commercial business for Rigetti. The company plans to scale its quantum computers from 80 qubits in 2021 to 1,000 qubits in 2024 and to 4,000 qubits in 2026.

The deal to go public by Rigetti follows a recent SPAC deal to take quantum computing company IonQ Inc IONQ public. 

SNII Price Action: SNII shares are up 1.44% to $9.89 on Wednesday morning.

Photo by Joshua Sortino on Unsplash