Rigetti Computing Inc. (NASDAQ: RGTI) announced plans to invest up to $100 million in the United Kingdom to accelerate quantum computing development, marking the company's first major investment outside the United States.

The Berkeley, California-based quantum computing company stated it intends to deploy a quantum computer with over 1,000 qubits within the next three to four years as part of this investment. The announcement follows the UK government's recent commitment to dedicate up to £2 billion in government funding aimed at establishing the country as a global leader in quantum computing.

"Our presence in the UK has been marked by fruitful collaboration across industry, government, and academia," said Rigetti CEO Dr. Subodh Kulkarni. "We see strong alignment with the UK's national quantum computing strategy and our own path to fault-tolerant quantum computing."

UK Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the government made a commitment to procure usable large-scale quantum computers by the early 2030s, backed by the £2 billion funding plan. "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," Kendall stated.

Rigetti currently operates a 36-qubit quantum system at the National Quantum Computing Centre as part of a consortium focused on advancing quantum error correction capabilities on superconducting quantum computers. The company manufactures quantum computing systems ranging from 9-qubit to 108-qubit configurations and operates quantum computers through its cloud platform for enterprise, government, and research clients.

The investment builds on Rigetti's existing UK presence and aligns with the company's goal of developing quantum systems capable of one trillion quantum operations by 2035.