Quantum computing stocks take a hit as Nvidia CEO predicts long road ahead (updated)

Quantum Computing

08/01/2025 15:22

(Updates shares in paragraph 4, market value loss in paragraph
5, adds analyst comments in paragraphs 6,7,11 and 12)
    By Arsheeya  Bajwa
       Jan 8 (Reuters) - Quantum computing stocks sank on
Wednesday, pausing a year-long rally, after Nvidia  NVDA.O  CEO
Jensen Huang said the technology's practical use was likely two
decades away.
    The long wait outlined by Huang for "very useful quantum
computers" throws cold water on a sector that was already
expected to spend millions more on the technology, which can
only perform niche calculations so far.
    "If you kind of said 15 years... that'd probably be on the
early side. If you said 30, it's probably on the late side. But
if you picked 20, I think a whole bunch of us would believe it,"
he said on Tuesday. 
    Rigetti Computing  RGTI.O , D-Wave Quantum  QBTS.N , Quantum
Computing  QUBT.O  and IonQ  IONQ.N  all fell more than 35%. 
    The companies, in total, were set to lose more than $5
billion in market value. 
    "Any dollar chasing quantum computing stocks is not chasing
AI stocks," said Thomas Hayes, chairman of Great Hill Capital. 
        "Jensen threw a wet blanket on the quantum story and did
everything he could to sell the AI story. It's that simple."
  
    Stocks of the four quantum computing companies had risen at
least threefold last year, driven by a high-profile breakthrough
at Google in December and increasing computing needs brought on
by generative AI applications.
    
    
    Google had unveiled a new generation chip that it said
solved in five minutes a computing problem that would take a
classical computer more time than the history of the universe. 
    In April, Microsoft and Quantinuum said they had achieved a
key step in making quantum computers a commercial reality but
did not comment on how many more years it would take to beat a
conventional supercomputer using the tech.
    "The 15 to 20 year timeline seems very realistic," said
Ivana Delevska, investment chief of Spear Invest, which holds
Rigetti and IonQ shares in an actively managed ETF. 
        "That is roughly what it took Nvidia to develop
accelerated computing."
  

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Quantum Computing stocks outperform Nasdaq in 2024    https://tmsnrt.rs/3BY4q6G
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil
D'Silva and Shreya Biswas)
 ((ArsheeyaSingh.Bajwa@thomsonreuters.com; +91 8510015800;))