Is Rigetti Computing's New 2-Qubit Gate Fidelity Record a Reason to Buy the Stock?

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) is a popular quantum computing stock pick. It's a relatively small company, sporting a market cap of less than $5 billion. However, if its quantum technology pans out, it could be a huge winner and easily deliver ten- or 20-fold returns.

That kind of return on investment is highly attractive to investors, and Rigetti recently announced some information regarding the success of one of its products. But is that enough to buy the stock? Let's take a look.

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The quantum computing space is full of stiff competition

The biggest issue surrounding quantum computing is not the ability to do it, which has already been proven. It's the accuracy with which it's done. The most popular accuracy metric used by quantum computers is 2-qubit gate fidelity, which measures a quantum computer's accuracy after a calculation passes through two logic gates. The higher the number, the more accurate the computer is.

Recently, Rigetti announced that its platform achieved 99.9% fidelity, meaning it has about 1 error in every 1,000 operations. While that sounds impressive, there are competitors that have already surpassed that threshold, like IonQ. IonQ achieved 99.99% fidelity back in October 2025. While that extra 0.09% sounds like very little, it's a huge amount in the quantum world.

Additionally, Rigetti only achieved that in a small, prototype platform. Its larger systems, like its 108-qubit system, only achieved 99% fidelity. That's a problem, because it shows that Rigetti's technology isn't scaling well.

Now, Rigetti may be able to right the course and improve its products, but the clock is ticking fast. There are several competitors in the quantum computing realm, like IonQ. But there are also big tech companies like Microsoft and Alphabet that are heavily investing in quantum technology. These two have resources that Rigetti could only dream of, and it will be a tough road ahead for them.

As a result, I don't think Rigetti is a great quantum computing investment. I think investors should be focused on companies with differentiating technology or that are leaders in an area, rather than a company that's just in the mix. Another option is to purchase a quantum computing exchange-traded fund (ETF), which includes a whole host of quantum computing companies that could be the ultimate winners. Regardless of which one you choose, I think there are better investments out there than Rigetti.

Keithen Drury has positions in Alphabet, IonQ, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, IonQ, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.