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- Rigetti & Co. entered a definitive merger agreement with Supernova Partners Acquisition Company II (NYSE:SNII), a publicly traded SPAC.
- The deal values Rigetti at a pro forma equity value of approximately $1.5 billion.
- The combined company is likely to receive ~$458 million in gross cash proceeds, including a fully committed PIPE of over $100 million, direct investment, and $345 million of cash held in the trust account of Supernova II.
- PIPE transaction includes funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.; Bessemer Venture Partners; Franklin Templeton; and In-Q-Tel.
- New strategic partners are Keysight Technologies, Palantir Technologies, and Ampere Computing.
- Rigetti will use the proceeds from the deal to accelerate development of multiple generations of quantum processors and grow its commercial business.
- Rigetti expects to scale its quantum computers from 80 qubits in 2021 to 4,000 qubits in 2026.
- The proposed transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of Rigetti and Supernova II.
- Following the close, the company will be named Rigetti Computing, Inc. and its shares are expected to be listed on the NYSE under the ticker "RGTI."