logo
Quantum Computing News: IonQ's Satellite Push, Rigetti's Chip Milestone, and $100M+ in Deep Tech Funding

Quantum Computing News: IonQ's Satellite Push, Rigetti's Chip Milestone, and $100M+ in Deep Tech Funding

Quantum computing is shaping up to be the most dynamic industry of 2025, with larger funds and new breakthroughs emerging almost every week. As Ferris Bueller so eloquently put it: 'Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.' Blink, and another milestone has been reached. This week brought another wave of momentum, including strategic acquisitions, hardware performance gains, deep tech funding rounds, and ambitious global expansion plans.
Elevate Your Investing Strategy:
Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.
Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week.
Investors tracking stocks like IonQ (IONQ), Rigetti Computing (RGTI), and companies aligned with AI infrastructure and quantum cybersecurity may want to keep these updates on their radar.
IonQ Completes Capella Space Acquisition
IonQ, one of the more prominent pure-quantum plays, has finalized its acquisition of Capella Space, setting the stage for a space-based quantum key distribution (QKD) network that merges IonQ's quantum systems with Capella's synthetic aperture radar satellites. The platform will enable quantum-secure global communications and quantum-enhanced Earth observation. Capella customers will gain access to secure, real-time sensing, while IonQ expands its foothold in quantum networking. This follows IonQ's collaborations with ID Quantique, the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security, and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. IONQ stock rose 5% in yesterday's trading.
Rigetti Hits 99.5% Fidelity on 36-Qubit Modular Chip
Rigetti Computing reported that it has reached a 99.5% median two-qubit gate fidelity on a new modular 36-qubit chiplet system, meeting its mid-year technical milestone. On the back of this milestone, RGTI stock soared 30% in one trading session!
The system utilizes four 9-qubit chiplets, reducing gate error rates by half compared to the company's earlier 84-qubit Ankaa-3 platform. Rigetti will launch the new system on August 15 and remains on schedule to deliver a 100+ qubit chiplet system by year-end. The modular approach is designed to support scaling while preserving performance.
Q.ANT Raises €62 Million for Photonic AI Chips
Q.ANT, a Stuttgart-based start-up, secured €62 million in Series A funding to accelerate the rollout of its photonic processors built on Thin-Film Lithium Niobate. The chips offer up to 30× energy savings and 50× performance gains over traditional silicon, targeting artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. Backers include Cherry Ventures, UVC Partners, and imec.xpand. The company plans to expand to the United States and scale production of its Native Processing Server, which integrates with current data centers as a co-processor.
QpiAI Closes $32 Million Round for Utility-Scale Quantum Systems
India-based QpiAI raised $32 million in Series A funding from Avataar Ventures and the National Quantum Mission. The company builds full-stack quantum computers for enterprise applications in materials science and drug discovery. QpiAI operates in India, Finland, and the United States, and is focused on delivering logical-qubit systems to complement its current NISQ solutions. The company's leadership includes over two dozen Ph.D.s from global research institutions, and the new capital will support international growth.
SandboxAQ Adds $95 Million to Expand Quantitative AI
SandboxAQ, Google's (GOOG) AI-quantum spinoff, has secured $95 million through a secondary funding round led by Rizvi Traverse, bringing its total funding to nearly $1 billion since its 2022 spinout from Alphabet. The company is developing large quantitative models designed to simulate physical systems across various industries, including biopharma, energy, and aerospace. Products include AQBioSim for drug discovery and AQtive Guard for quantum-secure cybersecurity. Investors in prior rounds include Google, NVIDIA (NVDA), and Bridgewater's Ray Dalio.
Using TipRanks' Comparison Too l, we've brought together some of the most prominent stocks in the quantum space to see how they stack up. It's a quick way for investors to get a clearer view of each company's position, and a better sense of where the industry is headed overall.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump says a China trip is 'not too distant' as trade tensions ease

timean hour ago

Trump says a China trip is 'not too distant' as trade tensions ease

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump on Tuesday said a trip to China might be 'not too distant,' raising prospects that the leaders of the world's two largest economies may meet soon to help reset relations after moving to climb down from a trade war. Trump made the remarks while hosting Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House, where he praised the 'fantastic military relationship' with Manila as the U.S. looks to counter China's influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Yet, Trump still said the U.S. is 'getting along with China very well. We have a very good relationship." He added that Beijing has resumed shipping to the U.S. 'record numbers' of much-needed rare earth magnets, which are used in iPhones and other high-tech products like electric vehicles. Widely speculated about since Trump returned to the White House, a summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would be expected to stabilize — even for a short while — a difficult relationship defined by mistrust and competition. Beijing believes a leader-level summit is necessary to steady U.S.-China relations and that Trump must be wooed because he has the final say on America's policy toward China, despite more hawkish voices in his Cabinet, observers say. The question, however, is when. Danny Russel, a distinguished fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said Trump has consistently shown his hunger for a visit to China and that Beijing has used that to bolster leverage. 'As soon as the leadership in Beijing is satisfied that Trump will be on his best behavior and will accept terms for a deal that they think are favorable, they will give a green light to the visit,' Russel said. Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Washington-based think tank Stimson Center, said a visit 'is in the making' with two sides likely to strike a trade deal. What Trump said might mean the visit would not be in September but "potentially November, but still depends on whether they play ball on trade and other things we want," Sun said. Trump's campaign to impose tariffs on other countries kicked off a high-stake trade war with Beijing. China raised tariffs on U.S. goods to 125% in response to Trump's hiking the tax on Chinese goods to 145%. Both sides also imposed on each other harsh trade restrictions on critical products: China on rare earths, and the U.S. on computing chips and jet engine technology. Trade tensions, however, eased following two rounds of high-level talks in Geneva and London, when the two sides agreed to lower tariffs — pending a more permanent deal by mid-August — and pull back on trade restrictions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday on Fox Business' 'Mornings with Maria' that he will be meeting with his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm next week to work on 'what is likely an extension' of the Aug. 12 deadline. 'I think trade is in a very good place with China," Bessent told host Maria Bartiromo. 'Hopefully, we can see the Chinese pull back on some of this glut of manufacturing that they're doing and concentrate on building a consumer economy.' He said he also expects to bring up China's purchases of Russian and Iranian oil and Beijing's role in aiding Moscow in its war against Ukraine. Beijing has not announced any travel plans for Vice Premier He Lifeng, who led trade negotiations in both Geneva and London on behalf of the Chinese government, but it is not unusual for China to make such announcements closer to a travel date. In a possible friendly gesture, Beijing on Tuesday said it suspended an antitrust investigation into chemical maker DuPont's operations in China. China's State Administration for Market Regulation made the announcement in a one-line statement but gave no explanation for the decision. DuPont said in a statement that it is 'pleased" with China's action. Chinese regulators launched the investigation in April against DuPont China Group, a subsidiary of the chemical giant, as part of Beijing's broad, retaliatory response to Trump's sky-high tariffs. Beijing also has agreed to approve export permits for rare earth elements and rare earth magnets that U.S. manufacturers need to build cars, robots, wind turbines and other high-tech products. The U.S. has eased restrictions on some advanced chips and other technologies.

Strategic Reset Fails to Resolve Under Armour's (UAA) Struggles with Profitability
Strategic Reset Fails to Resolve Under Armour's (UAA) Struggles with Profitability

Business Insider

time4 hours ago

  • Business Insider

Strategic Reset Fails to Resolve Under Armour's (UAA) Struggles with Profitability

In the early 2000s, Under Armour (UAA) seemingly emerged from nowhere to challenge leading athletic brands, capturing market share and becoming a household name in the process. Yet, after an extended slide in its share price, founder Kevin Plank returned as CEO with a commitment to returning the brand to its glory days. However, one year into the turnaround, the company continues to face revenue decline and negative profitability. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. While the stock trades at a relative discount following its decline, the path to sustainable growth remains uncertain. I prefer to maintain a Neutral stance on the stock until I see meaningful progress on revenue stabilization and margin improvement (perhaps at its earnings call on August 6th, which will hold some good news in that regard). Under Armour Struggling to Regain Its Swagger Since its founding in 1996, the Baltimore-based company has built its reputation as a leading manufacturer of performance athletic apparel on technical fabric innovations, particularly its moisture-wicking HeatGear and ColdGear products, which cater to athletes across various sports and climates. Last year, founder Kevin Plank returned to the CEO role to spearhead a 'strategic reset' focused on premium brand positioning and operational efficiency improvements. This has included shifting from the previous product-focused approach to a more consumer-centric, category-managed operating model, designed to better serve the needs of athletes. The company's recent Q4 FY2025 results suggest it has yet to get meaningful traction with its turnaround efforts. Revenue declined 11% year-over-year to $1.2 billion, with weakness evident across major markets, as U.S. sales fell 11%, international revenue dropped 13%, and the Asia-Pacific region declined 27%. Weak top-line performance and ongoing restructuring expenses have resulted in the company posting a net loss for the year of $201 million, with an earnings per share loss of $0.47. Evaluating UAA's Valuation and Momentum The stock currently trades near the midpoint of its 52-week range, $4.78 to $11.89. It reached its all-time high in 2015, trading above $50, then cascaded down over the following years, falling to under $5 earlier this year. However, over the past three months, the stock has experienced a notable rise, climbing 27% during that period. Despite the recent price run-up, the stock still trades at a relative discount, with a price-to-sales ratio of 0.61x, compared to 1x for the Consumer Discretionary sector, 2.42x for Nike (NKE), and 1.61x for Adidas (ADDYY). The shares exhibit positive price momentum, trading above most major moving averages (except for the 200-day moving average, though it is closing in on surpassing that level as well). Other technical indicators are neutral-to-bullish. Is UAA a Good Stock to Buy? On Wall Street, UAA stock carries a Hold consensus rating based on four Buy, 13 Hold, and three Sell ratings over the past three months. UAA's average stock price target of $6.84 implies approximately 4.5% downside potential over the next twelve months. Analysts following the company have taken a cautious stance, with many lowering their price targets for the shares. For instance, Goldman Sachs analyst Brooke Roach recently lowered the firm's price target on the shares to $6.50 (from $7) while maintaining a Neutral rating, noting the potential impact of elevated tariff rates. Similarly, Truist's Joseph Civello lowered the price target on Under Armour shares to $7 while reiterating a Hold rating, citing Q1 FY2026 guidance that came in well below expectations. In a research note, the analyst declared himself 'incrementally cautious' about the company's future outlook, with the impact of potential tariffs yet to be resolved. Conversely, Simeon Siegel at BMO Capital kept an Outperform rating on the shares while lowering his price target to $9 (from $12). He observed that Q4 results marked ongoing improvement in gross margins on lower revenue, as management works to turn the business around. He maintains that focusing on improving margins can act as a lever to enhance profitability and drive share growth over time. UAA Stock in Summary Under Armour is undergoing a turnaround effort aimed at regaining brand momentum and strengthening its market position. The company's strategic reset centers on leveraging its core strength in technical performance wear to deliver premium products and stand out in a highly competitive landscape. However, continued revenue declines across all major regions suggest deeper structural issues that won't be resolved quickly. Negative profitability further clouds the path to sustainable cash flow, especially as well-capitalized competitors like Nike and Adidas maintain pressure on market share. While the firm's bold reset has delivered some early signs of progress, reversing persistent revenue losses and restoring profitability remains a formidable challenge. Until Under Armour demonstrates measurable improvement in these key areas, the turnaround is likely to remain stalled. The stock trades at a relative discount, but this valuation appears to reflect market doubts about the company's ability to execute a successful transformation. Analyst price targets indicate limited upside in the near term, given the associated risks. I maintain a Neutral stance on the stock and will look for signs of margin improvement that could support a more constructive view going forward.

Astronomer hires Gwyneth Paltrow with a wink after 'kiss cam' viral video
Astronomer hires Gwyneth Paltrow with a wink after 'kiss cam' viral video

NBC News

time4 hours ago

  • NBC News

Astronomer hires Gwyneth Paltrow with a wink after 'kiss cam' viral video

Astronomer has hired Gwyneth Paltrow as a "temporary spokesperson" following the social media firestorm that involved two now-former company executives and a Coldplay concert 'kiss cam" last week. Paltrow appeared in a television-style spot on Astronomer's social media on Friday making a pitch for the company's everyday strengths. "Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days, and they wanted me to answer the most common ones," said Paltrow, who split with Coldplay singer Chris Martin in 2014. Astronomer made headlines after internet sleuths identified its CEO and chief people officer as the man and woman seen embracing and then hiding their faces on a "kiss cam" at the July 16 concert. Both have since resigned. In the Astronomer video, Paltrow cut off a question that started with "OMG!" to emphatically say, "Yes, Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow." "We've been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation," she added. She interrupted another question — "How is your social media team holding ..." — to make a pitch for an Astronomer conference in September. Paltrow concluded, 'We will now be returning to what we do best — delivering game-changing results for our customers.' CEO Andy Byron resigned on July 19, and Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot followed on Thursday, according to statements from the company. Their body language after the camera captured them in an embrace led Martin to remark on stage, 'Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy.' Astronomer said afterward it was investigating the incident. 'Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability,' it said on July 18. The company confirmed Thursday that Cabot was the woman in the video. Neither she nor Byron have responded to requests for comment. Astronomer, a New York-based company, helps companies develop, grow, and analyze products using artificial intelligence.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store