Renowned short seller Andrew Left, whose firm Leht gained notoriety during the 2021 meme stock frenzy, is now turning his skeptical eye toward the high-flying quantum computing sector. Left, who recently disclosed short positions in AI giant Palantir, has now set his sights on Rigetti Computing (RGTI) and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS), warning that a potential bubble is forming.
This move comes as both stocks have seen astronomical gains in 2025, soaring 78% and 214% year-to-date, respectively. Left argues that this investor enthusiasm is masking severe fundamental weaknesses within the companies.
Left has trained most of his criticism on Rigetti Computing. He first questioned the company’s value in December when its stock traded below $10 and maintains his bearish stance despite its subsequent surge. What have we learned from the last four years in tech? Left posed. We’ve learned that technology is expensive, and timelines and talent are everything.
His skepticism deepened after a meeting with Rigetti’s management. Left, who had once recommended the stock as a speculative bet around $0.90, now cites major concerns over the company’s technology, its high research and development costs, and intense competition from tech behemoths like Alphabet’s Google.
The path to commercializing their technology is one of the most uncertain things I’ve ever heard, Left remarked, recalling his discussions with the company. He also pointed to consistent stock sales by Rigetti insiders in recent months as a red flag.
While broadly pessimistic on quantum equities, Left sees a rare opportunity in Infleqtion, a quantum company set to go public via a merger with the SPAC Churchill Capital Corp.
In a post on social media platform X, Left explained his divergent view. He believes Infleqtion’s strategy of building quantum technology that integrates into ecosystems powered by NVIDIA is a “winning formula.” In contrast, he sees Rigetti as focused on building hardware that competes directly with industry giants.
Infleqtion has customers, revenue, and the NVIDIA seal of approval, Left stated. Rigetti has dilution and press releases. He contends the market has yet to price in the gap between execution and ambition.
Left also pushed back against market optimism that the U.S. government might take equity stakes in quantum companies, viewing it as an unlikely catalyst. He called the notion both improbable and not a valid reason for bullishness. Trump is not going to use U.S. taxpayer money to bail out CEOs who are selling stock, Left said bluntly. That is not how the government works, and certainly not Trump’s style.
