Quantum computing stocks like Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) and IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) were clobbered Wednesday following comments from NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang suggesting the technology is decades away from practical use. 

What To Know: Huang commented on the future of quantum computing at an investor event on Tuesday sending quantum stocks plunging in after-hours trading. 

“If you kind of said 15 years for very useful quantum computers, that would probably be on the early side. If you said 30, it’s probably on the late side,” Huang said. “If you picked 20, I think a whole bunch of us would believe it.”

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Following Huang's comments, quantum stocks plummeted further on Wednesday with Rigetti Computing stock closing down 43.8%, D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) down 36% and IonQ shares ending the session down by 39%. 

Expert Ideas: Some experts have suggested that Huang may have had ulterior motives behind his comments on quantum computing's long-term outlook. 

“Any dollar chasing quantum computing stocks is not chasing AI stocks,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman of Great Hill Capital, per Reuters. 

“Jensen threw a wet blanket on the quantum story and did everything he could to sell the AI story. It’s that simple,” Hayes added. 

Another analyst echoed similar sentiments on quantum computing as a potential threat to Nvidia's dominance: Quantum computing “will be disruptive to parts of the classical compute business, of which Nvidia is a chief beneficiary,” Craig-Hallum analyst Richard Shannon said, per Reuters. 

CEO Fires Back: D-Wave Quantum CEO Alan Baratz also criticized Huang for his comments on the timeline for achieving practical quantum computing, saying the Nvidia CEO is "dead wrong." Baratz said D-Wave's quantum computers are already in commercial use by major companies including Mastercard. 

“Not 30 years from now, not 20 years from now, not 15 years from now,” he said, adding, “But right now today.”

Poised To Recover: Quantum stocks look poised to open higher Friday (after Thursday’s national day of mourning for President Jimmy Carter and the U.S. markets are closed) after recovering slightly in Wednesday's after-hours session. D-Wave Quantum rose 6.89%, Rigetti Computing gained 2.89% and IonQ gained 5.92% after Wednesday's closing bell. 

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