Rigetti Computing Inc (NASDAQ:RGTI) a company that was started with ambitious plans but seems to have lost its way. Founded by Chad Rigetti, a former IBM researcher, Rigetti aimed to be beaten by IBM in the race to quantum computing supremacy with a comparable technology roadmap.

Unfortunately, less than a year after its launch, Rigetti’s plans fell apart. Key managers left or were dismissed, and the technological roadmap was set aside. The company’s vision of achieving quantum advantage was overshadowed by IBM’s consistent progress in the field. Rigetti’s financial situation worsened, leading to concerns about its future viability.

The challenges in building quantum computers due to the need for extreme isolation and low temperatures to prevent interference with quantum particles are highlighted in the article. Despite these difficulties, progress has been made by some companies like D-Wave and IonQ Inc. in using isolated quantum particles.

Quantum computing relies on the properties of quantum particles like superposition and entanglement to perform complex calculations faster than classical computers. Rigetti’s new approach involves hybrid computing, where quantum and classical computers work together, but this strategy is considered a temporary solution until fully error-corrected quantum computers arrive.

Rigetti has only one significant commercial customer, possibly Amazon Web Services, and its hardware lags behind major competitors.

With Chad Rigetti and other senior managers leaving, and the technological roadmap abandoned, the future of the company seems uncertain. The new management team has a history of selling companies, raising questions about Rigetti’s long-term prospects.

Overall, Rigetti’s value is questionable, and it might not have a competitive advantage to thrive in the quantum computing industry. The company’s future may lie in the potential value of its remaining staff and intellectual property for other companies, rather than achieving quantum supremacy as initially envisioned.