Quantum computing firm Rigetti has announced plans to invest up to $100 million in the UK to accelerate quantum computing development.

The pledge represents the company’s first major investment outside of the US and will see Rigetti deploy a quantum computer with more than 1,000 qubits by the end of the decade.

Rigetti did not provide any information about where the quantum computer will be deployed. DCD has reached out to the company for more details.

“Our presence in the UK has been marked by fruitful collaboration across industry, government, and academia. The UK government’s unwavering dedication to advancing quantum computing technology is evident across the UK’s entire quantum ecosystem,” said Rigetti CEO, Dr. Subodh Kulkarni. “The focus on driving end-user engagement and developing on-premises capabilities for meaningful R&D makes the UK an exemplary leader in this revolutionary field.”

The announcement follows an investment pledge made by the UK government earlier this month to put forward £1 billion ($1.3bn) in new funding to help retain homegrown quantum talent and procure “usable large-scale quantum computers” by the early 2030s.

Commenting on Rigetti’s announcement, UK Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: "Rigetti shares our ambition to harness quantum to improve lives, livelihoods, and public services, and this $100 million investment is a strong and immediate vote of confidence in our approach.

"The steps we are taking will deliver world-class infrastructure, access to talent, and a clear pathway which turns ideas from R&D into real-world use, building an environment which will support more companies to scale up and grow on our shores."

Founded in 2013 to commercialize quantum computing technologies, in April 2025 California-based Rigetti was selected as one of the winners of Innovate UK’s Quantum Missions pilot competition.

In collaboration with Riverlane and the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), the project will see Rigetti use its 36-qubit quantum computer at the NQCC to advance error correction capabilities on superconducting quantum computers.

UK-based dilution fridge supplier Oxford Instruments has previously installed a Rigetti quantum computer at its main site in Tubney Wood, Oxfordshire. Oxford Instruments sold its quantum business to Quantum Design last year.

The system – Rigetti’s first outside the US and still one of the few the company has shipped outside its own facilities – is connected to Rigetti’s cloud for its own and its customers’ use.