Rigetti Computing India Quantum Collaboration Boosts Quantum
Rigetti Computing Signs $8.4 Million Quantum Partnership with C-DAC of India Rigetti Computing India Quantum Collaboration
Rigetti Computing India P L, a subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed Rigetti Computing, Inc., has placed a $8.4 million (£6.6 million) purchase order for a state-of-the-art quantum computer in India. The premier research and development organization under India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, C-DAC, will receive the 108-qubit supercomputer.
The system is planned to be installed at C-DAC's Bengaluru center in the second half of 2026, marking a milestone in India's technology strategy. Technical Advance: 108-Qubit System The new system relies on Rigetti's chiplet-based design. This modular strategy may enable scaling quantum systems to extremely high qubit counts for fault-tolerant quantum computing and error correction. Rigetti uses superconducting qubits, unlike its competitors. This mode is preferred by the company due to its faster operations, obvious growth route, and maturity. The business believes Rigetti systems' gate speeds are 50 to 70 nanoseconds, 1,000 times faster than ion traps or neutral atoms. The Cepheus quantum computer being supplied to India has 108 qubits. These devices with 36 to 108 qubits use the company's unique control electronics and multi-chip processor technologies. Rigetti launched the Cepheus-1-36Q in 2025, the first multi-chip quantum processor, by tiling four 9-qubit chiplets. Strategic Supercomputing Infrastructure Integration in India The purchase is strategic integration into India's HPC architecture, not merely hardware. According to Rigetti CEO Dr. Subodh Kulkarni, the open and flexible architecture was designed to facilitate hybrid classical-quantum supercomputing. C-DAC's Hybrid HPC-Quantum Mission relies on this integration. By bringing the system on-site, C-DAC wants to provide its scientific and industry partners real R&D. Mission focus: Developing quantum accelerators. Establishing a national quantum computing reference center. Quantum communication and software stack and middleware development. Using hybrid HPC-quantum solutions in national scientific and industrial domains.
Expanding Rigetti-C-DAC Partnership This order completes the two entities' relationship. Rigetti and C-DAC signed an MoU in September 2025 to co-develop hybrid solutions for government labs and academic organizations. Global demand for on-premises quantum computers is rising as nations prioritize sovereign control over quantum capabilities. Rigetti offers its Quantum Cloud Services (QCS) platform to foreign industry and research customers, but it also sells gear to domestic labs. The company makes its own hardware at Fab-1, the first integrated and specialized quantum device production facility. C-DAC Advances India's Technology The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing is unique to India's IT policy. In addition to research, its purposes are: Achieving socioeconomic growth via ICT. Sharing knowledge: Overcoming language barriers with technology. Intellectual Property: Commercializing knowledge. C-DAC may respond to market demands and global advances in fundamental technology by using Rigetti's 108-qubit system. Challenges and Future Risks Despite the company's success, Rigetti warned stockholders about quantum business concerns. Many factors could effect the late 2026 deployment, including the company's ability to meet technology milestones and manage worldwide supply chains. Such projects require the Rigetti's foresight, quantum market development, government finance, and supplier relationships. International trade, inflation, and technology may affect system delivery and functionality. In conclusion Rigetti and Indian scientists consider the $8.4 million order a turning point. Rigetti's superconducting technology and C-DAC's supercomputing infrastructure aim to put India at the forefront of the hybrid classical-quantum era as quantum advantage approaches. The Bengaluru center is predicted to become a high-performance quantum R&D center in the second half of 2026 due to its gate speeds, which exceed several market alternatives.