Quantum Stocks Drop Globally as Nvidia CEO Predicts Years of Wait for Tech
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s remark that useful quantum computers are still years away caused quantum stocks to drop on January 8, 2024. According to CNBC, Jensen outlined the realities in the quantum computing sector during a Q&A session with analysts at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) event in Las Vegas.
The Ripple Effect
Huang expressed confidence that Nvidia will play a significant role in developing quantum computers and assisting the industry to grow faster. This comment had a ripple effect on leading quantum computing stocks.
Rigetti Computing stocks dropped by 40% while those of D-Wave Quantum and Arqit Quantum dipped by more than 38% each. IonQ share prices dropped by about 32% while those of AI ETF and Defiance Quantum lost 5% of their value. Shares of Quantum Computing also plunged by 39%.
“If you 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. But if you picked 20, I think a whole bunch of us would believe it,” Huang said.
On January 7, 2025, Quantum Computing said it had struck deals to sell off 8.16 million shares to institutional investors at $12.25 per share. This share sale is expected to rake in $100 million for the company for general purposes and working capital. The company plans to finalize the deal on January 9, 2025. These proceeds and existing cash reserves will enable the company to advance the development of quantum technologies.
Positive Outlook
Quantum computing had gotten a boost towards the end of 2024 after Google unveiled the Willow chip. The search giant said that the chip’s performance was far much better that the one it released in 2019. Willow chip had significantly less errors. This announcement triggered a wave of excitement around quantum computing.
Most investors also saw this sector as the next big thing after AI. This positive outlook caused Quantum computing shares to surge towards year end, with D-Wave and Rigetti stock prices rising by 854% and 1,449% respectively.
Quantum computing holds the potential to revolutionize AI despite being in the early phases. Companies like Microsoft, IBM, Google, and Honeywell have already invested in technology to create many innovations and breakthroughs.
Computing Capabilities
Quantum computing technology has been touted for its ability to perform high level computational tasks that ordinary computers can not. The technology is also capable of processing high volumes of data.
Despite these capabilities, some investors have warned that it’s too early to rule out real-world use cases for this technology. The latest comments by Huang also affected quantum computing firms listed in China. Stocks for companies such as Accelink Technologies and QuantumCTek dropped sharply on January 8, 2025.
