Rigetti Computing Inc (NASDAQ:RGTI) shares are gaining traction on Thursday after the company announced a major quantum networking contract.

What Happened: Rigetti said it was awarded a three-year $5.8 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to advance superconducting quantum networking in collaboration with QphoX, a Dutch quantum technology startup.

Under the contract, Rigetti will merge its superconducting qubit chips with QphoX's single-photon microwave-optical transducers. The goal of the integration is to generate entanglement between qubits and optical photons, an important step for both distributed quantum computing and a secure quantum internet.

The funds provided from the AFRL award will support three key R&D milestones: optimizing qubit-to-transducer interfaces, scaling multi-chip quantum processors and demonstrating long-range quantum state transfer over optical fibers at room temperature.

“By joining Rigetti’s leadership in designing, fabricating, and operating superconducting qubits with QphoX’s world-class transduction technology, and AFRL’s expertise in hybrid networked quantum systems, this is an exciting opportunity to advance superconducting quantum networking,” said Subodh Kulkarni, Rigetti CEO.

Rigetti, a pioneer in full stack quantum computing, continues to advance scalable systems through its proprietary multi-chip processors, cloud services and on-premises QPUs. The stock has gained approximately 68% year-to-date as the quantum sector continues to see increased attention from investors.

RGTI Price Action: Rigetti Computing shares were up 16.98% at $25.72 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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