Rigetti Updates Timeline for Cepheus-1-108Q Quantum Processor

Insider Brief

• Rigetti Computing has revised its roadmap, pushing the general availability of its 108-qubit Cepheus-1-108Q system to around the end of Q1 2026.
• The delay is driven by additional testing and a new chip iteration to address tunable coupler complexities and improve two-qubit gate fidelity toward a 99.5% median target.
• Rigetti reports current median two-qubit gate fidelities of 99% on the 108-qubit system, with higher fidelities already demonstrated on its smaller systems.

PRESS RELEASE — Rigetti Computing, Inc., a pioneer in full-stack quantum-classical computing, today announced that it is revising its roadmap and adjusting the date for general availability of its 108-qubit quantum computing system, Cepheus -1-108Q. Cepheus-1-108Q is now expected to reach general availability around the end of the first quarter of 2026.

“While we are making strong progress with Cepheus-1-108Q, we are taking more time to test and optimize the system to ensure the performance is up to our standards,” says Rigetti CEO Dr. Subodh Kulkarni. “We have a clear understanding of what we need to do to achieve 99.5% median two-qubit gate fidelity, and are well on our way. Building higher qubit count systems can uncover new challenges. We encountered complexities with our tunable couplers and have decided to run another iteration of our chip to further optimize the system and improve fidelity.”

“We continue to improve our system performance, achieving a median two-qubit gate fidelity of 99% on our 108-qubit system, 99.7% on our 9-qubit system, and 99.6% on our 36-qubit system. This underscores our unwavering commitment to delivering the highest performing systems for our partners and customers.”

Cepheus-1-108Q is based on twelve 9-qubit chiplets and leverages Rigetti’s proprietary modular chip architecture. The system will be Rigetti’s highest qubit count system to date and the industry’s largest modular quantum computing system.