Quantum computing firm Rigetti Computing Inc. today said it will lay off 28% of its staff after replacing its chief technology and financial officers.

The publicly traded company is facing the possibility of a delisting from the Nasdaq exchange due to the poor performance of its stock, and to avoid that it has to maintain a share price of above $1 for 10 consecutive days before a July 24 deadline.

Rigetti was issued a notice by Nasdaq Stock Market LLC that warned it of the possible delisting on Jan. 27, and that appears to have prompted a reshuffle. Today, the company announced that Jeffrey Bertelsen is taking over as its new CFO, replacing the previous incumbent Brian Sereda. Bertelsen previously worked at CyberOptics Inc., which is a developer of extremely precise sensors and inspection systems for the semiconductor manufacturing industry.

Meanwhile, David Rivas has been named Rigetti’s new CTO, replacing Mike Harburn. Rivas was previously tasked with running engineering and operations for Rigetti’s Quantum Cloud Services.

Rigetti Chief Executive Subodh Kulkarni only took over the reins of the company himself in December when he replaced its founding CEO Chad Rigetti. Today, he said the executive reshuffle and job cuts would be implemented alongside a new technology roadmap.

The revised roadmap calls for Rigetti to deliver its upcoming Ankaa-1 84-qubit quantum computing system by the first quarter of 2023. The new system will feature denser qubit spacing and tunable couplers, making it more performant than the company’s existing 80-qubit Aspen-M system.

Other goals include boosting the performance of the Ankaa-1 system when it launches, and doubling down on efforts to achieve “quantum advantage.” That’s the point at which quantum computers are able to solve a practical and operationally relevant problem better, faster or cheaper than existing classical computers.

“Specifically, upon the anticipated launch of the Ankaa-1 84-qubit system, Rigetti plans to focus its efforts on improving the performance of the system with the goal of reaching at least 99% two-qubit gate fidelity on the anticipated Ankaa-2 84-qubit system, and if this target is achieved, Rigetti plans to shift its focus to scaling to develop the anticipated Lyra 336-qubit system,” Kulkarni said in a statement.

Like all quantum computing companies, Rigetti faces challenges in sustaining long sequences of calculations because of the natural instability of qubits, which are their fundamental data processing elements. To overcome this challenge, Rigetti is pursuing a multichip approach to building quantum processors, combining the power of multiple smaller chips to create a more powerful machine. Its existing Aspen-M system, for example, is an 80-qubit machine powered by two separate 40-qubit processors.

Rigetti’s long-term roadmap still calls for the delivery of a 1,000-qubit multichip system by 2025, and a 4,000-qubit multichip system by 2027.

Quantum computing could one day revolutionize the technology industry, solving problems that cannot be addressed by existing classical computers. They could lead to the development of new materials that improve electric car batteries and solar panels, discovery of a new generation of pharmaceutical drugs, and more. However, such machines are likely still a number of years away.

Rigetti went public back in March 2022 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company called Supernova Partners Acquisition Company II Ltd. Its stock hit an all-time high of $8.81 in May 2022 but has been trending down ever since.

Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller said the prospect of a global recession and higher interest rates means that investors often raise the bar and demand a better performance from their investments. He said that is clearly the case for Rigetti, which now faces multiple challenges.

“It’s not only the prospect of delisting and the layoffs, but also a lack of funding as it struggles to keep up with its ambitious roadmap, which is focused on getting its 84-qubit machine to work later this year,” Mueller said. “The common struggles of quantum startups that went public with the SPAC vehicle, despite low revenue and high losses, may kill an echelon of quantum startups. That said, adversity often makes people stronger, and it’s possible that Rigetti could emerge out of this situation as a more cohesive and focused company.”

Image: Rigetti Computing