The quantum computing industry seems to be just as delicate as the qubits it relies on. Shares in some publicly traded QC companies saw steep declines today, following Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's CES rather reasonable remark that practical quantum systems may still be 20 years away. the world is probably five to six orders of magnitude away from the number of qubits needed to make practical quantum computers - and he doesn't expect anyone to break that threshold anytime soon.
D-Wave, Quantum Computing Inc, Rigetti, and IONQ are all down nearly 50 percent as of writing. The only leading publicly-traded quantum computing firm to escape a 50-percent decline in value is UK-based Arqit Quantum, but it's still down by around 30 percent. As of writing, D-Wave shares are worth about $5, with Rigetti sitting at $9.50. Both companies - and the others losing cash today - made most of their gains past the $1 mark in December thanks in part to positive earnings reports, stock offerings, and IONQ shipping its first quantum computer to Europe,the Motley Fool. Whether those gains will be erased following Huang's comment remains to be seen, but the early signs aren't positive.