“If you kind of 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,” Huang said in a question-and-answer session during Nvidia’s analyst day. “If you picked 20, I think a whole bunch of us would believe it.”
Quantum Computing Inc., D-Wave Quantum Inc., and Rigetti Computing Inc. saw their shares fall by over 14% in premarket trading, while IonQ's stock decreased by approximately 10%. These companies had previously enjoyed significant gains in recent months due to growing enthusiasm surrounding the technology, particularly after a notable advancement in quantum computing by Alphabet Inc. last month.
Over the past year, shares in Quantum Computing have surged more than 1,800%, reaching $17.49 by the close on Tuesday. Rigetti's stock increased by over 1,500% to $18.39 during the same period, while D-Wave's shares rose nearly 1,000% to $9.55, and IonQ's stock climbed more than 300% to $49.59.
Huang's statements also negatively impacted quantum computing companies listed in China, with shares of QuantumCTek Co. Ltd and Accelink Technologies Co. Ltd experiencing significant declines on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, shares of Alphabet, which had gained 12% in December—marking its best month since May 2023—fell by 0.3% in premarket trading.