Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
Registration No. 333-266810
PROSPECTUS
UP TO 500,000 SHARES OF COMMON STOCK
This prospectus relates to the offer and sale from time to time by Ampere Computing LLC or its permitted transferees (Ampere or the selling stockholder) of up to 500,000 shares (the Shares) of common stock, par value $0.0001 (the common stock), of the Company, issued upon the exercise of the vested portion of that certain warrant issued to the selling stockholder (the Ampere Warrant) pursuant to the warrant subscription agreement, dated as of October 6, 2021, by and between Legacy Rigetti (as defined below) and Ampere (the Warrant Subscription Agreement), for a purchase price (including amounts for exercise) of $10,000,000, or $10.00 per share. The Shares consist of 500,000 outstanding shares of common stock issued in connection with the exercise of the vested portion of the Ampere Warrant and receipt by the Company of an aggregate $5,000,000 (including aggregate exercise price).
The selling stockholder may offer, sell or distribute all or a portion of the Shares publicly or through private transactions at prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. We will not receive any of the proceeds from such sales of the Shares.
We will bear all costs, expenses and fees in connection with the registration of these Shares, including with regard to compliance with state securities or blue sky laws. The selling stockholder will bear all commissions and discounts, if any, attributable to their sale of Shares. See the section titled Plan of Distribution.
Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market (Nasdaq) under the symbol RGTI. On December 18, 2023, the last reported sales price of our common stock was $1.10 per share.
We are an emerging growth company as defined under U.S. federal securities laws and, as such, have elected to comply with reduced public company reporting requirements. This prospectus complies with the requirements that apply to an issuer that is an emerging growth company.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risks. You should review carefully the risks and uncertainties described in the section titled Risk Factors beginning on page 9 of this prospectus, and under similar headings in any amendments or supplements to this prospectus and the documents incorporated herein and therein by reference.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities, or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is December 18, 2023.
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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES FOR NON-U.S. HOLDERS |
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You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus, information incorporated by reference into this prospectus, any applicable prospectus or in any related free writing prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Neither we nor the selling securityholders have authorized anyone to provide you with additional information or information different from that contained in this prospectus filed with the SEC. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. The selling securityholders are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, our securities only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The information contained in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of our securities. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
For investors outside of the United States: Neither we nor the selling securityholders, have done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of our securities and the distribution of this prospectus outside the United States.
To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus, on the one hand, and the information contained in any document incorporated by reference filed with the SEC before the date of this prospectus, on the other hand, you should rely on the information in this prospectus. If any statement in a document incorporated by reference is inconsistent with a statement in another document incorporated by reference having a later date, the statement in the document having the later date modifies or supersedes the earlier statement.
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This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) using the shelf registration process. Under this shelf registration process, the selling stockholder may, from time to time, sell the Shares offered by them described in this prospectus. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale by the selling stockholder of the Shares offered by them described in this prospectus. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the Shares pursuant to this prospectus.
Neither we nor the selling stockholder have authorized anyone to provide you with any information or to make any representations other than those contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement or any free writing prospectuses prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. Neither we nor the selling stockholder take responsibility for, or provide any assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. Neither we nor the selling stockholder will make an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
We may also provide a prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment to the registration statement to add information to, or update or change information contained in, this prospectus. You should read both this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment to the registration statement together with the additional information to which we refer you in the sections of this prospectus titled Where You Can Find More Information and Incorporation by Reference.
On March 2, 2022 (the Closing Date), we consummated the transactions contemplated by that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of October 6, 2021, as amended on December 23, 2021 and January 10, 2022 (as amended, the Merger Agreement), by and among Supernova, Supernova Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Supernova (First Merger Sub), Supernova Romeo Merger Sub, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Supernova (Second Merger Sub), and Rigetti Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (Legacy Rigetti). As contemplated by the Merger Agreement, on March 1, 2022 Supernova was domesticated as a Delaware corporation and changed its name to Rigetti Computing, Inc. (the Domestication). On the Closing Date, (i) First Merger Sub merged with and into Legacy Rigetti, the separate corporate existence of First Merger Sub ceased and Legacy Rigetti survived as a wholly owned subsidiary of Rigetti Computing, Inc. (the Surviving Corporation and, such merger, the First Merger) and (ii) immediately following the First Merger, the Surviving Corporation merged with and into the Second Merger Sub, the separate corporate existence of the Surviving Corporation ceased and Second Merger Sub survived as a wholly owned subsidiary of Rigetti Computing, Inc. and changed its name to Rigetti Intermediate LLC (such merger transaction, the Second Merger and, together with the First Merger, the Merger, and, collectively with the Domestication, the PIPE Financing (as defined below) and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, the Business Combination). The closing of the Business Combination is herein referred to as the Closing.
Unless the context indicates otherwise, references in this prospectus to the Company, Rigetti, Rigetti Computing, we, us, our and similar terms refer to Rigetti Computing, Inc. (f/k/a Supernova Partners Acquisition Company II, Ltd.) and its consolidated subsidiaries. References to Supernova refer to our predecessor company prior to the consummation of the Business Combination (the Closing, and the date of the consummation of the Business Combination, the Closing Date). References to Legacy Rigetti refer to Rigetti Holdings, Inc. prior to the Closing.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein and any prospectus supplement delivered with this prospectus may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act). This includes, without limitation, statements regarding the financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations. These statements constitute projections, forecasts and forward-looking statements, and are not guarantees of performance. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. Any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as anticipate, believe, continue, could, estimate, expect, intends, may, might, plan, possible, potential, predict, project, should, could, will, would or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions.
These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, we disclaim any duty to update any forward-looking statements, all of which are expressly qualified by the statements in this section, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this prospectus. We caution you that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control.
We caution you that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:
| the sufficiency of our cash resources, our expectation that we will need to raise additional capital by early 2025, including any additional sales of common stock through our Common Stock Purchase Agreement with B. Riley or from other sources, and our ability to raise additional capital when needed and on attractive terms; |
| our ability to achieve milestones, and/or technological advancements, including with respect to executing on our technology roadmap and developing practical applications; |
| the potential of quantum computing and estimated market size and market growth including with respect to our long-term business strategy for quantum computing as a service (Quantum Computing as a Service, or QCaaS); |
| the success of our partnerships and collaborations; |
| our ability to accelerate our development of multiple generations of quantum processors; |
| customer concentration and the risk that a significant portion of our revenue currently depends on contracts with the public sector; |
| the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against us or others with respect to the Business Combination or other matters; |
| our ability to execute on our business strategy, including monetization of our products; |
| our financial performance, growth rate and market opportunity; |
| our ability to maintain compliance with standards relating to the listing of our common stock and public warrants on, the Nasdaq Capital Market, and the potential liquidity and trading of such securities; |
| the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, our ability to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain our management and key employees; |
| costs related to operating as a public company; |
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| our ability to remediate the material weaknesses in, and establish and maintain, effective internal controls over financial reporting; |
| changes in applicable laws or regulations; |
| the possibility that we may be adversely affected by other economic, business, or competitive factors; |
| the evolution of the markets in which we compete; |
| our ability to implement our strategic initiatives, expansion plans and continue to innovate our existing services; |
| unfavorable conditions in our industry, the global economy or global supply chain (including any supply chain impacts from the ongoing military conflicts involving Russia and Ukraine and sanctions related thereto and the state of war between Israel and Hamas and the potential larger regional conflict), including inflation and financial and credit market fluctuations; |
| changes in applicable laws or regulations; |
| our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors; |
| our estimates regarding expenses, profitability, future revenue, capital requirements and needs for additional financing; |
| our ability or decisions to expand or maintain our existing customer base; and |
| macroeconomic conditions, including worsening global economic conditions, disruptions to and volatility and uncertainty in the credit and financial markets, increases in inflation and interest rates, and recent and potential future disruptions in access to bank deposits or lending commitments due to bank failures, on the foregoing. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in the section titled Risk Factors and elsewhere in this prospectus. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. We discuss in greater detail many of these risks under the section titled Risk Factors contained in the applicable prospectus supplement, in any free writing prospectuses we may authorize for use in connection with a specific offering, and in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as well as any amendments thereto reflected in subsequent filings with the SEC, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus in their entirety. Also, these forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of the document containing the applicable statement. Unless required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information or future events or developments. You should read this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement, together with the documents we have filed with the SEC that are incorporated by reference and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize for use in connection with a specific offering completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of the forward-looking statements in the foregoing documents by these cautionary statements.
In addition, statements that we believe and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this prospectus, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and you are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.
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This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, and does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making your investment decision. Before investing in our securities, you should carefully read this entire prospectus, including the risks of investing in our securities under the section titled Risk Factors contained in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, and under similar headings in the other documents that are incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You should also carefully read the information incorporated by reference into this prospectus. You should also carefully read the information incorporated by reference into this prospectus, including our financial statements, and the exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. Unless the context otherwise requires, we use the terms Rigetti, Company, we, us and our in this prospectus to refer to Rigetti Computing, Inc. and our wholly owned subsidiaries.
Overview
We build quantum computers and the superconducting quantum processors that power them. We believe quantum computing represents one of the most transformative emerging capabilities in the world today. By leveraging quantum mechanics, we believe our quantum computers process information in fundamentally new, more powerful ways than classical computers.
We are a vertically integrated company. We own and operate Fab-1, a unique wafer fabrication facility dedicated to prototyping and producing our quantum processors. Through Fab-1, we own the means of production of our breakthrough multi-chip quantum processor technology. We leverage our chips through a full-stack product development approach, from quantum chip design and manufacturing through cloud delivery.
We have been deploying our quantum computers to end users over the cloud since 2017. We offer our full-stack quantum computing platform as a cloud service to a wide range of end-users, directly through our Rigetti QCS platform, and also through cloud service providers.
We began selling quantum computers to end users in 2023. In the third quarter of 2023 we expanded our QPU customer base with the delivery of a 9-qubit quantum processing unit (QPU) to another premier national laboratory. This follows our first QPU sale in the second quarter of 2023 to Fermilab in which we delivered a 9Q QPU as part of our partnership with the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center (SQMS).
We have developed strong customer relationships and collaborative partnerships to accelerate the development of key technologies for high-value use cases that unlock strategic early markets. Our partners and customers include commercial enterprises such as Amazon Web Services, Nasdaq and Standard Chartered Bank, along with U.S. government organizations such as the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
We are enabled by a deep technical team that includes global experts in quantum chip design and manufacturing, quantum computing systems architecture, quantum software, and quantum algorithms and applications.
Powered by the production of our scalable multi-chip quantum processors in Fab-1 and our full-stack product development approach, our goal is to deliver quantum computing systems that demonstrate clear performance advantages over classical computing alternatives for multiple high-impact application areas.
Background
Supernova was a blank check company incorporated on December 22, 2020 in the Cayman Islands for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses.
On the Closing Date, Rigetti consummated the Business Combination pursuant to the Merger Agreement. Supernovas shareholders approved the Business Combination and Domestication at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders held on February 28, 2022 (the Extraordinary General Meeting). In connection with the Extraordinary General Meeting and the Business Combination, holders of 22,915,538 of Supernovas Class A ordinary shares (Supernova Class A ordinary shares), or 66.4% of the shares with redemption rights, exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $10.00 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of $229,155,380.
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On March 1, 2022, the business day prior to the Closing Date, Supernova effectuated the Domestication by filing a notice of deregistration with the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies, together with the necessary accompanying documents, and filing a certificate of incorporation (the Certificate of Incorporation) and a certificate of corporate domestication with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, under which Supernova was domesticated and continues as a Delaware corporation. The board of Rigetti (the Board) also adopted the Bylaws of the Company on March 1, 2022, which became effective on that date and were subsequently amended and restated on November 14, 2022 (the Bylaws).
In connection with the Domestication, Supernova changed its name from Supernova Partners Acquisition Company II, Ltd. to Rigetti Computing, Inc. As a result of and upon the effective time of the Domestication, among other things, (1) each then issued and outstanding Supernova Class A ordinary share converted automatically, on a one-for-one basis, into a share of common stock; (2) each then issued and outstanding Class B ordinary share, par value $0.0001 per share, of Supernova (Supernova Class B ordinary share) converted automatically, on a one-for-one basis, into a share of common stock; (3) each then issued and outstanding whole warrant of Supernova to purchase one Supernova Class A ordinary shares converted automatically into a warrant to acquire one share of common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, dated March 1, 2021 (the warrant agreement), between Supernova and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent; and (4) each then issued and outstanding unit of Supernova (the Supernova Units) was separated and converted automatically into one share of common stock and one-fourth of one warrant to purchase common stock.
On the Closing Date, Rigetti consummated the First Merger and immediately following the First Merger, consummated the Second Merger. Immediately prior to the effective time of the First Merger, each share of Legacy Rigettis Series C preferred stock and Series C-1 preferred stock (collectively, the Legacy Rigetti Preferred Stock), converted into shares of common stock of Legacy Rigetti (Legacy Rigetti Common Stock) in accordance with the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Legacy Rigetti (such conversion, the Legacy Rigetti Preferred Conversion).
As a result of the First Merger, among other things, (1) all outstanding shares of Legacy Rigetti Common Stock as of immediately prior to the Closing (including Legacy Rigetti Common Stock resulting from the Legacy Rigetti Preferred Stock Conversion), were exchanged at an exchange ratio of calculated pursuant to the Merger Agreement and equal to 0.786989052873439 (the Exchange Ratio) for an aggregate of 78,959,579 shares of common stock, (2) each warrant to purchase Legacy Rigetti Common Stock was assumed and converted into a Rigetti assumed warrant, with each Rigetti assumed warrant subject to the same terms and conditions as were applicable to the original Legacy Rigetti warrant and having an exercise price and number of shares of common stock purchasable based on the Exchange Ratio and other terms contained in the Merger Agreement, (3) each option to purchase Legacy Rigetti Common Stock was assumed and converted into an option to purchase shares of common stock (the Rigetti assumed options), with each Rigetti assumed option subject to the same terms and conditions as were applicable to the original Legacy Rigetti option and with an exercise price and number of shares of common stock purchasable based on the Exchange Ratio and other terms contained in the Merger Agreement and (4) each Legacy Rigetti restricted stock unit award was assumed and converted into a restricted stock unit award to receive shares of common stock (the Rigetti assumed RSU), with each Rigetti assumed RSU subject to the same terms and conditions as were applicable to the original Legacy Rigetti restricted stock unit award and the number of shares of common stock to which the Rigetti assumed RSU relates based on the Exchange Ratio and other terms contained in the Merger Agreement.
Concurrently with the execution of the Merger Agreement, Supernova entered into subscription agreements (the Initial Subscription Agreements) with certain investors (together, the Initial PIPE Investors), pursuant to which the Initial PIPE Investors agreed to subscribe for and purchase, and Supernova agreed to issue and sell to the Initial PIPE Investors, an aggregate of 10,251,000 shares of common stock at a price of $10.00 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $102,510,000 (the Initial PIPE Financing). On December 23, 2021, Supernova entered into subscription agreements (the Subsequent Subscription Agreements, and together with the Initial Subscription Agreements, the Subscription Agreements) with two accredited investors (as such term is defined in Rule 501 of Regulation D) (the Subsequent PIPE Investors, and together with the Initial PIPE Investors, the PIPE Investors) pursuant to which the Subsequent PIPE Investors agreed to subscribe for and purchase, and Supernova agreed to issue and sell to
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the Subsequent PIPE Investors, an aggregate of 4,390,244 shares of common stock at a price of $10.25 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $45,000,000 (the Subsequent PIPE Financing, and together with the Initial PIPE Financing, the PIPE Financing). Pursuant to the Subscription Agreements, Rigetti agreed to provide the PIPE Investors with certain registration rights with respect to the shares purchased as part of the PIPE Financing. The PIPE Financing was consummated immediately prior to the Merger.
Ampere Warrant
Concurrently with the execution of the Merger Agreement, on October 6, 2021, Legacy Rigetti entered into the Warrant Subscription Agreement with Ampere for the purchase of the Ampere Warrant for an aggregate purchase price (including amounts for exercise) of $10,000,000 pursuant to which the Ampere Warrant may be exercised by Ampere at an exercise price of $0.0001 per share for 1,000,000 shares of the Companys common stock. The Warrant Subscription Agreement was assumed by the Company pursuant to the Merger Agreement in connection with the closing of the business combination pursuant to the Merger Agreement.
On June 30, 2022, pursuant to the Warrant Subscription Agreement, the Company issued the Ampere Warrant to Ampere upon receipt of an aggregate of $5 million (including the exercise price), and upon such payment and issuance, 500,000 shares of common stock vested under the Ampere Warrant and were immediately exercised by Ampere pursuant to the terms of the Ampere Warrant. The purchase of the Ampere Warrant pursuant to the Warrant Subscription Agreement was conditioned upon, among other things, the consummation of the Business Combination pursuant to the Merger Agreement and the entry into a collaboration agreement between Legacy Rigetti and Ampere. Pursuant to the Warrant Subscription Agreement, Ampere was required to pay, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, an additional $4,999,950 (the Additional Payment) to the Company no later than the second anniversary of the date of the Warrant Subscription Agreement, and upon such payment, the 500,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the vesting and exercise of the unvested portion of the Ampere Warrant (the Unexercised Warrant Shares) would vest and be exercisable by Ampere pursuant to the terms of the Ampere Warrant. The conditions to payment were not satisfied by the second anniversary of the date of the Warrant Subscription Agreement (the Anniversary Date), and therefore, the Company may reject Amperes payment of the Additional Payment and the Unexercised Warrant Shares will not vest or be exercisable. In addition, Ampere has no further obligation with respect to the payment of the Additional Payment. The Ampere Warrant and the shares of common stock issued pursuant to the Ampere Warrant have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and were issued in reliance on an exemption from such registration. We are registering the resale of the Shares as required by the registration rights contained in the Warrant Subscription Agreement.
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 775 Heinz Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94710 and our telephone number is (510) 210-5550. Our corporate website address is www.rigetti.com. Information contained on or accessible through our website is not a part of this prospectus, and the inclusion of our website address in this prospectus is an inactive textual reference only.
Rigetti and our other registered and common law trade names, trademarks and service marks are property of Rigetti Computing, Inc. This prospectus contains additional trade names, trademarks and service marks of others, which are the property of their respective owners. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ® or symbols.
Emerging Growth Company and Smaller Reporting Company Status
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the JOBS Act). As an emerging growth company, we are exempt from certain requirements related to executive compensation, including the requirements to hold a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and to provide information relating to the ratio of total compensation of our Chief Executive Officer to the median of the annual total compensation of all of our employees, each as required by the Investor Protection and Securities Reform Act of 2010, which is part of the Dodd-Frank Act.
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Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can choose not to take advantage of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies, and any such election to not take advantage of the extended transition period is irrevocable.
Supernova previously elected to avail itself of the extended transition period and we will take advantage of the benefits of the extended transition period emerging growth company status permits. During the extended transition period, it may be difficult or impossible to compare our financial results with the financial results of another public company that complies with public company effective dates for accounting standard updates because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
We will remain an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act until the earliest of (a) December 31, 2026 (the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the consummation of the IPO), (b) the last date of our fiscal year in which we have a total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, (c) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the SEC with at least $700.0 million of outstanding securities held by non-affiliates or (d) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the previous three years.
We are also a smaller reporting company as defined in the Exchange Act. We may continue to be a smaller reporting company even after we are no longer an emerging growth company. We may take advantage of certain of the scaled disclosures available to smaller reporting companies and will be able to take advantage of these scaled disclosures for so long as the market value of our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $250.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter, or our annual revenue is less than $100.0 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and the market value of our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter.
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Issuer | Rigetti Computing, Inc. | |
Resale of common stock | ||
Shares of common stock offered by the selling stockholder | We are registering the resale by the selling stockholder, or its permitted transferees, an aggregate of up to 500,000 outstanding shares of common stock issued upon exercise of the vested portion of the Ampere Warrant. | |
Use of proceeds | We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the Shares by the selling stockholder. | |
Market for common stock and public warrants | Our common stock is currently traded on Nasdaq under the symbol RGTI. | |
Risk factors | Before investing in our securities, you should carefully read and consider the See the section titled Risk Factors and the other information included in this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference for a discussion of factors you should consider carefully before deciding to invest in our securities. |
For additional information concerning the offering, see Plan of Distribution beginning on page 27.
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Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before you make a decision to buy our securities, in addition to the risks and uncertainties discussed above under Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements, you should carefully consider the risk factors incorporated by reference to our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all other information contained or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), and the risk factors and other information contained in any applicable prospectus supplement before acquiring any of such securities. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may become material and adversely affect our business. The occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment in the offered securities.
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We are filing the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part to permit the selling stockholder to resell the Shares, as described in the section titled Selling Stockholder.
The selling stockholder will receive all of the net proceeds from sales of the Shares sold pursuant to this prospectus. We will not receive any proceeds from the resale of any Shares offered by this prospectus by the selling stockholder.
We, and not the selling stockholder, will pay the costs, expenses and fees in connection with the registration and sale of the Shares covered by this prospectus, but the selling stockholder will pay all discounts, commissions or brokers fees or fees of similar securities industry professionals and transfer taxes, if any, attributable to sales of the Shares.
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On October 6, 2021, Legacy Rigetti entered into the Warrant Subscription Agreement with Ampere for the purchase of the Ampere Warrant for an aggregate purchase price (including amounts for exercise) of $10,000,000 pursuant to which the Ampere Warrant may be exercised by Ampere at an exercise price of $0.0001 per share for 1,000,000 shares of common stock. The Warrant Subscription Agreement was assumed by the Company pursuant to the Merger Agreement in connection with the closing of the Business Combination.
On June 30, 2022, pursuant to the Warrant Subscription Agreement, the Company issued the Ampere Warrant upon receipt of an aggregate of $5 million (including the exercise price), and upon such payment and issuance, 500,000 shares of the Companys common stock vested under the warrant and were immediately exercised by Ampere pursuant to the terms of the Ampere Warrant. The purchase of the Ampere Warrant pursuant to the Warrant Subscription Agreement was conditioned upon, among other things, the consummation of the Business Combination pursuant to the Merger Agreement and the entry into a collaboration agreement between Legacy Rigetti and Ampere. Pursuant to the Warrant Subscription Agreement, Ampere was required to pay, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, the Additional Payment of $4,999,950 to the Company no later than the Anniversary Date, and upon such payment, the Unexercised Warrant Shares would vest and become exercisable by Ampere at an exercise price of $0.0001 per share pursuant to the terms of the Ampere Warrant. The conditions to payment were not satisfied by the Anniversary Date, and therefore, the Company may reject Amperes payment of the Additional Payment and the Unexercised Warrant Shares will not vest or be exercisable. In addition, Ampere has no further obligation with respect to the payment of the additional $4,999,950.
Pursuant to the Warrant Subscription Agreement, we have agreed to keep the registration statement of which this prospectus constitutes a part effective through the earliest of (i) three years from the date the initial registration statement covering the registrable securities under the Warrant Subscription Agreement is declared effective, (ii) the date on which subscriber no longer owns the Ampere Warrant or (iii) the first date on which subscribers can sell the Ampere Warrant (or shares received in exchange therefor) without any condition or limitation under Rule 144.
We are registering the resale of the Shares to permit the selling stockholder below to resell or otherwise dispose of the Shares in the manner contemplated under Plan of Distribution in this prospectus (as may be supplemented and amended). As used in this prospectus, the term selling securityholder includes the selling securityholder listed in the table below, and the pledgees, donees, transferees, assignees, successors, designees, successors-in-interest and others who later come to hold any of the selling securityholders interest in the common stock or warrants other than through a public sale. Throughout this prospectus, when we refer to the common stock being registered on behalf of the selling stockholder, we are referring to the Shares.
The selling stockholder may sell some, all or none of their Shares. We do not know how long the selling stockholder will hold the Shares before selling them, and we currently have no agreements, arrangements or understandings with the selling stockholder regarding the sale or other disposition of any of the Shares. The Shares covered hereby may be offered from time to time by the selling stockholder.
The following table sets forth the number of our outstanding common stock beneficially owned by the selling stockholder as of December 6, 2023, the number of Shares that may be offered under this prospectus and the number and percentage of our outstanding common stock beneficially owned by the selling stockholder assuming all of the Shares covered hereby are sold. Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC and includes voting or investment power with respect to our shares of common stock. Generally, a person beneficially owns shares of common stock if the person has or shares with others the right to vote those shares or to dispose of them, or if the person has the right to acquire voting or disposition rights within 60 days. The number of shares in the column Number Registered for Resale represents all of the shares that the selling stockholder may offer and sell from time to time under this prospectus.
All information contained in the table below and the footnotes thereto is based upon information provided to us by the selling stockholder as of August 16, 2022. The selling stockholder may have sold or transferred, in transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act, some or all of its shares or other securities since the date on which the information in the table below is presented. Information about the selling stockholder may change over time. The percentage of shares owned after the offering is based on 145,014,572 shares of common stock outstanding as of December 6, 2023.
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Shares of Common Stock | ||||||||||||||||
Name |
Number Beneficially Owned Prior to Offering |
Number Registered for Sale Hereby |
Number Beneficially Owned After Offering |
Percent Owned After Offering |
||||||||||||
Ampere Computing LLC(1) |
500,000 | 500,000 | | |
* | Less than one percent. |
(1) | Consists of 500,000 shares issued and outstanding in connection with the exercise of the vested portion of the Ampere Warrant. Renée J. James is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ampere and has voting and investment control of the shares held by Ampere. While Ms. James may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of the shares held by Ampere, she disclaims such beneficial ownership. The registered address of Ampere Computing LLC is 4655 Great America Parkway, Suite 601, Santa Clara, CA 95054. |
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The following summary of the material terms of our securities is not intended to be a complete summary of the rights and preferences of such securities, and is qualified by reference to the complete text of our certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws and the warrant-related documents described herein and filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
Authorized Capitalization
Our certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of 1,000,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.0001 par value per share. As of December 6, 2023, there were approximately 145,014,572 shares of common stock and no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.
Common Stock
Voting Rights
Each holder of common stock will be entitled to one (1) vote for each share of common stock held of record by such holder on all matters voted upon by our stockholders, provided, however, that, except as otherwise required in the Certificate of Incorporation or by applicable law, the holders of common stock will not be entitled to vote on any amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation that alters or changes the powers, preferences, rights or other terms of one or more outstanding series of preferred stock if the holders of such affected series are entitled, either separately or together with the holders of one or more other such series, to vote thereon pursuant to the Certificate of Incorporation (including any certificate of designation relating to any series of preferred stock) or pursuant to the DGCL. When a quorum is present, the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting power of the shares present in person, by remote communication, if applicable, or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote generally on the subject matter is required to take action, unless otherwise specified by law, the Bylaws or the Certificate of Incorporation, and except for the election of directors, which is determined by a plurality vote. There are no cumulative voting rights.
Dividend Rights
Subject to the rights of the holders of preferred stock and any other provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation, as it may be amended from time to time, holders of common stock will be entitled to receive such dividends and other distributions in cash, stock or property of the Company when, as and if declared thereon by the Board, in its discretion, from time to time out of assets or funds of the Company legally available therefor.
Rights upon Liquidation, Dissolution and Winding-Up
Subject to the rights of holders of preferred stock, in the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs, whether voluntary or involuntary, after payment or provision for payment of our debts and any other payments required by law and amounts payable upon shares of preferred stock ranking senior to the shares of common stock upon such dissolution, liquidation or winding up, if any, the Companys remaining net assets will be distributed to the holders of common stock and the holders of any other class or series of capital stock ranking equally with the common stock upon such dissolution, liquidation or winding up, equally on a per share basis.
Other Rights
There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of common stock will be subject to those of the holders of preferred stock that the Company may issue in the future.
Election of Directors
Our Board is divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, with members of each class serving staggered three-year terms with only one class of directors being elected in each year. Under the Bylaws, the election of directors is determined by plurality vote.
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Preferred Stock
The Board has the authority to issue shares of preferred stock from time to time on terms it may determine, to divide shares of preferred stock into one or more series and to fix the designations, preferences, privileges, and restrictions of preferred stock, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preference, sinking fund terms and the number of shares constituting any series or the designation of any series to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL. The issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of decreasing the trading price of our common stock, restricting dividends on the capital stock, diluting the voting power of the holders of common stock, impairing the liquidation rights of the capital stock, or delaying or preventing a change in control of the company.
Warrants
As of December 6, 2023, there were 13,074,972 warrants outstanding.
Public Warrants
Each whole public warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of common stock at a price of $11.50 per whole share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing 30 days after the Closing Date, except as discussed in the immediately succeeding paragraph. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of shares of common stock. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a given time by a warrant holder and only whole warrants trade. The warrants will expire March 2, 2027, five years after the Closing Date, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We will not be obligated to deliver any shares of common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue a share of common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless the share of common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant.
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Rigetti common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement; provided that if shares of common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a covered security under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of common stock equals or exceeds $18.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):
| in whole and not in part; |
| at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| upon a minimum of 30 days prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and |
| if, and only if, the closing price of the shares of common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading -Anti-dilution Adjustments) on the trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
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We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. Any such exercise would not be done on a cashless basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised. However, the price of the shares of common stock may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading -Anti-dilution Adjustments) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of common stock equals or exceeds $10.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):
| in whole and not in part; |
| at $0.10 per warrant; |
| upon a minimum of 30 days prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table below, based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our shares of common stock except as otherwise described below; and |
| if, and only if, the closing price of shares of common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per public share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading -Anti-dilution Adjustments) on the trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
Beginning on the date the notice of redemption is given until the warrants are redeemed or exercised, holders may elect to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. The numbers in the table below represent the number of shares of common stock that a warrant holder will receive upon such cashless exercise in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, based on the fair market value of shares of common stock on the corresponding redemption date (assuming holders elect to exercise their warrants and such warrants are not redeemed for $0.10 per warrant), determined for these purposes based on volume weighted average price of shares of common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, and the number of months that the corresponding redemption date precedes the expiration date of the warrants, each as set forth in the table below. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-trading day period described above ends.
The share prices set forth in the column headings of the table below will be adjusted as of any date on which the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant or the exercise price of a warrant is adjusted as set forth under the heading -Anti-dilution Adjustments below. If the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant is adjusted, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the share prices immediately prior to such adjustment, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the exercise price of the warrant after such adjustment and the denominator of which is the price of the warrant immediately prior to such adjustment. In such an event, the number of shares in the table below shall be adjusted by multiplying such share amounts by a fraction, the numerator
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of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant immediately prior to such adjustment and the denominator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant as so adjusted. If the exercise price of a warrant is adjusted, in the case of an adjustment pursuant to the second paragraph under the heading -Anti-dilution Adjustments below, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the unadjusted share price less the decrease in the exercise price of a warrant pursuant to such exercise price adjustment.
Fair Market Value of Common Stock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Redemption Date |
≤ | 10.00 | 11.00 | 12.00 | 13.00 | 14.00 | 15.00 | 16.00 | 17.00 | ≥ | 18.00 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
60 months |
0.261 | 0.281 | 0.297 | 0.311 | 0.324 | 0.337 | 0.348 | 0.358 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
57 months |
0.257 | 0.277 | 0.294 | 0.310 | 0.324 | 0.337 | 0.348 | 0.358 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
54 months |
0.252 | 0.272 | 0.291 | 0.307 | 0.322 | 0.335 | 0.347 | 0.357 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
51 months |
0.246 | 0.268 | 0.287 | 0.304 | 0.320 | 0.333 | 0.346 | 0.357 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
48 months |
0.241 | 0.263 | 0.283 | 0.301 | 0.317 | 0.332 | 0.344 | 0.356 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
45 months |
0.235 | 0.258 | 0.279 | 0.298 | 0.315 | 0.330 | 0.343 | 0.356 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
42 months |
0.228 | 0.252 | 0.274 | 0.294 | 0.312 | 0.328 | 0.342 | 0.355 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
39 months |
0.221 | 0.246 | 0.269 | 0.290 | 0.309 | 0.325 | 0.340 | 0.354 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
36 months |
0.213 | 0.239 | 0.263 | 0.285 | 0.305 | 0.323 | 0.339 | 0.353 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
33 months |
0.205 | 0.232 | 0.257 | 0.280 | 0.301 | 0.320 | 0.337 | 0.352 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
30 months |
0.196 | 0.224 | 0.250 | 0.274 | 0.297 | 0.316 | 0.335 | 0.351 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
27 months |
0.185 | 0.214 | 0.242 | 0.268 | 0.291 | 0.313 | 0.332 | 0.350 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
24 months |
0.173 | 0.204 | 0.233 | 0.260 | 0.285 | 0.308 | 0.329 | 0.348 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 months |
0.161 | 0.193 | 0.223 | 0.252 | 0.279 | 0.304 | 0.326 | 0.347 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 months |
0.146 | 0.179 | 0.211 | 0.242 | 0.271 | 0.298 | 0.322 | 0.345 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 months |
0.130 | 0.164 | 0.197 | 0.230 | 0.262 | 0.291 | 0.317 | 0.342 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 months |
0.111 | 0.146 | 0.181 | 0.216 | 0.250 | 0.282 | 0.312 | 0.339 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 months |
0.090 | 0.125 | 0.162 | 0.199 | 0.237 | 0.272 | 0.305 | 0.336 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 months |
0.065 | 0.099 | 0.137 | 0.178 | 0.219 | 0.259 | 0.296 | 0.331 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 months |
0.034 | 0.065 | 0.104 | 0.150 | 0.197 | 0.243 | 0.286 | 0.326 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
0 months |
| | 0.042 | 0.115 | 0.179 | 0.233 | 0.281 | 0.323 | 0.361 |
The exact fair market value and redemption date may not be set forth in the table above, in which case, if the fair market value is between two values in the table or the redemption date is between two redemption dates in the table, the number of shares of common stock to be issued for each warrant exercised will be determined by a straight-line interpolation between the number of shares set forth for the higher and lower fair market values and the earlier and later redemption dates, as applicable, based on a 365 or 366-day year, as applicable. For example, if the volume weighted average price of our shares of common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $11.00 per share, and at such time there are 57 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.277 shares of common stock for each whole warrant. For an example where the exact fair market value and redemption date are not as set forth in the table above, if the volume weighted average price of shares of common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $13.50 per share, and at such time there are 38 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.298 shares of common stock for each whole warrant. In no event will the warrants be exercisable on a cashless basis in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 shares of common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment). Finally, as reflected in the table above, if the warrants are out of the money and about to expire, they cannot be exercised on a cashless basis in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, since they will not be exercisable for any shares of common stock.
This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in many other blank check companies, which typically only provide for a redemption of warrants for cash (other than the private placement warrants) when the trading price for the shares of common stock exceeds $18.00 per share for a specified period of time. This redemption feature is structured to allow for all of the outstanding warrants to be redeemed when the shares of common stock are trading at or above $10.00 per public share, which may be at a time when the trading price of shares of common stock is below the exercise price of the warrants. We have established this redemption feature to
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provide us with the flexibility to redeem the warrants without the warrants having to reach the $18.00 per share threshold set forth above under -Redemption of warrants when the price per share of common stock equals or exceeds $18.00. Holders choosing to exercise their warrants in connection with a redemption pursuant to this feature will, in effect, receive a number of shares for their warrants based on an option pricing model with a fixed volatility input as of the of this prospectus. This redemption right provides us with an additional mechanism by which to redeem all of the outstanding warrants, and therefore have certainty as to our capital structure as the warrants would no longer be outstanding and would have been exercised or redeemed. We will be required to pay the applicable redemption price to warrant holders if we choose to exercise this redemption right and it will allow us to quickly proceed with a redemption of the warrants if we determine it is in our best interest to do so. As such, we would redeem the warrants in this manner when we believe it is in our best interest to update our capital structure to remove the warrants and pay the redemption price to the warrant holders.
As stated above, we can redeem the warrants when the shares of common stock are trading at a price starting at $10.00, which is below the exercise price of $11.50, because it will provide certainty with respect to our capital structure and cash position while providing warrant holders with the opportunity to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis for the applicable number of shares. If we choose to redeem the warrants when the shares of common stock are trading at a price below the exercise price of the warrants, this could result in the warrant holders receiving fewer shares of common stock than they would have received if they had chosen to wait to exercise their warrants for shares of common stock if and when such shares of common stock were trading at a price higher than the exercise price of $11.50.
No fractional shares of common stock will be issued upon exercise. If, upon exercise, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of shares of common stock to be issued to the holder. If, at the time of redemption, the warrants are exercisable for a security other than the shares of common stock pursuant to the warrant agreement, the warrants may be exercised for such security. At such time as the warrants become exercisable for a security other than the shares of common stock, we (or surviving company) will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register under the Securities Act the security issuable upon the exercise of the warrants.
Redemption procedures. A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such persons affiliates), to the warrant agents actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the shares of common stock issued and outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
Anti-dilution Adjustments. If the number of outstanding shares of common stock is increased by a capitalization or share dividend payable in shares of common stock, or by a sub-division of ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such capitalization or share dividend, sub-division or similar event, the number of shares of common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding ordinary shares. A rights offering made to all or substantially all holders of ordinary shares entitling holders to purchase shares of common stock at a price less than the historical fair market value (as defined below) will be deemed a share dividend of a number of shares of common stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of common stock actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for shares of common stock) and (ii) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of common stock paid in such rights offering and (y) the historical fair market value. For these purposes, (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for shares of common stock, in determining the price payable for shares of common stock, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) historical fair market value means the volume weighted average price of shares of common stock as reported during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the shares of common stock trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to all or substantially all of the holders of the shares of common stock on account of such shares of common stock (or other securities into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above and, (b) any cash dividends or cash distributions which, when combined on a per share basis with all other cash dividends and cash distributions paid on the shares of common stock during the 365-day period
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ending on the date of declaration of such dividend or distribution does not exceed $0.50 (as adjusted to appropriately reflect any other adjustments and excluding cash dividends or cash distributions that resulted in an adjustment to the exercise price or to the number of shares of common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant) but only with respect to the amount of the aggregate cash dividends or cash distributions equal to or less than $0.50 per share, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each share of common stock in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding shares of common stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination or reclassification of shares of common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reclassification or similar event, the number of shares of common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares of common stock. Whenever the number of shares of common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of shares of common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of shares of common stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding shares of common stock (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such shares of common stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding shares of common stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the shares of common stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of common stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. However, if such holders were entitled to exercise a right of election as to the kind or amount of securities, cash or other assets receivable upon such consolidation or merger, then the kind and amount of securities, cash or other assets for which each warrant will become exercisable will be deemed to be the weighted average of the kind and amount received per share by such holders in such consolidation or merger that affirmatively make such election, and if a tender, exchange or redemption offer has been made to and accepted by such holders (other than a tender, exchange or redemption offer made by the company in connection with redemption rights held by shareholders of the company as provided for in the companys amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or as a result of the redemption of shares of common stock by the company if a proposed initial business combination is presented to the shareholders of the company for approval) under circumstances in which, upon completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) of which such maker is a part, and together with any affiliate or associate of such maker (within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) and any members of any such group of which any such affiliate or associate is a part, own beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) more than 50% of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock, the holder of a warrant will be entitled to receive the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a shareholder if such warrant holder had exercised the warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and all of the shares of common stock held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to such tender or exchange offer, subject to adjustment (from and after the consummation of such tender or exchange offer) as nearly equivalent as possible to the adjustments provided for in the warrant agreement. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the equityholders of Rigetti in such a transaction is payable in the form of shares of common stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the warrants pursuant to which the holders of the warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the warrants. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the warrants pursuant to which the holders of the warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the warrants.
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The warrants have been issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in this prospectus, or defective provision (ii) amending the provisions relating to cash dividends on ordinary shares as contemplated by and in accordance with the warrant agreement or (iii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants.
The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of ordinary shares and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of common stock. After the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders.
No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of common stock to be issued to the warrant holder. We have agreed that, subject to applicable law, any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. This provision applies to claims under the Securities Act but does not apply to claims under the Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum.
Private Placement Warrants
Except as described below, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the public warrants. The private placement warrants (including the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the Closing Date (except pursuant to limited exceptions, to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with the initial purchasers of the private placement warrants) and they will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by Supernova Sponsor or its permitted transferees. Supernova Sponsor, or its permitted transferees, has the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than Supernova Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in Supernovas initial public offering. Any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants.
If holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its warrants for that number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the Sponsor fair market value (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the Sponsor fair market value. For these purposes, the Sponsor fair market value shall mean the average reported closing price of the shares of common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent.
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Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements, general financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that our Board may deem relevant and will be within the discretion of our Board at such time. In addition, our ability to pay dividends may be limited by covenants of any existing and future outstanding indebtedness that we or our subsidiaries incur. We do not anticipate declaring any cash dividends to holders of common stock in the foreseeable future.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of Delaware Law and our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law
We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, which generally prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years after the date that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, with the following exceptions:
| before such date, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; |
| upon completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction began, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding, but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder, those shares owned (1) by persons who are directors and also officers and (2) employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or |
| on or after such date, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder. |
In general, Section 203 defines a business combination to include the following:
| any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder; |
| any sale, transfer, pledge or other disposition of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation involving the interested stockholder; |
| subject to certain exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder; |
| any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock or any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; or |
| the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits by or through the corporation. |
In general, Section 203 defines an interested stockholder as an entity or person who, together with the persons affiliates and associates, beneficially owns or within three years prior to the time of determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation.
A Delaware corporation may opt out of these provisions with an express provision in its original certificate of incorporation or an express provision in an amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws resulting from a stockholders amendment approved by at least a majority of the outstanding voting shares. We have not opted out of these provisions. As a result, mergers or other takeover or change in control attempts of us may be discouraged or prevented.
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Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Among other things, our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws:
| providing for a classified board of directors with staggered, three-year terms; |
| the ability of the Board to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, including blank check preferred stock, with any rights, preferences and privileges as they may designate, including the right to approve an acquisition or other change of control; |
| provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of the Board; |
| provide that, subject to the rights of the holders of any series of preferred stock, any individual director or directors may be removed only with cause by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class; |
| provide that all vacancies, including newly created directorships, may, except as otherwise required by law, be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of directors then in office, even if less than a quorum; |
| require that any action to be taken by our stockholders must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders and not be taken by written consent or electronic transmission; |
| provide that stockholders seeking to present proposals before a meeting of stockholders or to nominate candidates for election as directors at a meeting of stockholders must provide advance notice in writing, and also specify requirements as to the form and content of a stockholders notice; |
| provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called by the chairperson of the Board, the chief executive officer or by the Board pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the total number of authorized directors; and |
| not provide for cumulative voting rights, therefore allowing the holders of a majority of the shares of common stock entitled to vote in any election of directors to elect all of the directors standing for election, if they should so choose. |
The combination of these provisions will make it more difficult for the existing stockholders to replace our board of directors as well as for another party to obtain control of us by replacing our board of directors. Because our board of directors has the power to retain and discharge its officers, these provisions could also make it more difficult for existing stockholders or another party to effect a change in management. In addition, the authorization of undesignated preferred stock makes it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to change our control.
These provisions are intended to enhance the likelihood of continued stability in the composition of our board of directors and its policies and to discourage coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed to reduce our vulnerability to hostile takeovers and to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. However, such provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares and may have the effect of delaying changes in our control or management. As a consequence, these provisions may also inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our stock.
Exclusive Forum of Certain Actions
The Certificate of Incorporation requires, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, that Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks subject matter jurisdiction, any state court located within the State of Delaware or, if and only if all such state courts lack subject matter jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) and any appellate court therefrom is the sole and exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law: (i) derivative actions brought on behalf of the Company; (ii) actions against current or former directors, officers or other employees or stockholders of the Company for breach of fiduciary duty to the Company or
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the Companys stockholders; (iii) actions against the Company or any current or former director, officer or other employee or stockholder of the Company, arising out of or pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or the Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws,: (iv) actions to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws; (v) actions as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware; and (vi) actions against the Company or any current or former director, officer or other employee or stockholder of the Company, governed by the internal-affairs doctrine of the law of the State of Delaware, in all cases to the fullest extent permitted by law and subject to the court having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants. However, this provision will not apply to claims or actions brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act or Exchange Act, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. The Certificate of Incorporation further provides that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause or causes of action arising under the Securities Act, including all causes of action asserted against any defendant named in such complaint. Additionally, the Certificate of Incorporation provides that any person or entity holding, owning or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to these provisions.
Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers. Additionally, we cannot be certain that a court will decide that this provision is either applicable or enforceable, and if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in the amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
The DGCL provides generally that the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding stock entitled to vote on amendments to a corporations certificate of incorporation or bylaws is required to approve such amendment, unless a corporations certificate of incorporation or bylaws, as the case may be, requires a greater percentage.
The Certificate of Incorporation provides, in addition to the votes required by law, that the following provisions therein may be amended, altered, repealed or rescinded only by the affirmative of the holders of at least sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66 2/3%) of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of capital stock of common stock and preferred stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class, including provisions regarding the classified board structure, the size of the Board, the election and removal of directors to the Board, the filling of vacancies, the limited liability of directors and officers of Rigetti and exclusive forums for certain actions.
The Bylaws may be amended or repealed (A) by the affirmative vote of a majority of the entire Board then in office, without the assent or vote of any stockholder (subject to any bylaw requiring the affirmative vote of a larger percentage of the members of the Board) or (B) without the approval of the Board, by the affirmative vote of the holders of any class or series of stock of Rigetti required by law or by the Certificate of Incorporation, such action by stockholders requiring the affirmative vote of the holders of at least sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66 2/3%) of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of the capital stock of Rigetti entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class.
Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent
The transfer agent for common stock and warrant agent for the warrants is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company.
Listing of Securities
Our common stock and public warrants are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols RGTI and RGTIW, respectively.
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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES FOR NON-U.S. HOLDERS
The following is a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences applicable to non-U.S. holders (as defined below) with respect to their ownership and disposition of shares of our common stock, but does not purport to be a complete analysis of all potential tax effects. This discussion is based on current provisions of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code) existing and proposed U.S. Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder, current administrative rulings and judicial decisions, all as in effect as of the date of this prospectus and, all of which are subject to change or to differing interpretation, possibly with retroactive effect. Any such change or differing interpretation could alter the tax consequences to non-U.S. holders described in this prospectus. There can be no assurance that the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS), will not challenge one or more of the tax consequences described herein. We assume in this discussion that a non-U.S. holder holds shares of our common stock as a capital asset within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code, which is generally property held for investment.
This discussion does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to a particular non-U.S. holder in light of that non-U.S. holders individual circumstances nor does it address any U.S. state, local or non-U.S. tax considerations, the alternative minimum tax provisions of the Code, the Medicare tax on net investment income, the rules regarding qualified small business stock within the meaning of Section 1202 of the Code, or any other aspect of any U.S. federal tax other than the income tax, such as estate or gift tax consequences. This discussion also does not consider any specific facts or circumstances that may apply to a non-U.S. holder and does not address special tax rules applicable to particular non-U.S. holders, such as:
| insurance companies; |
| tax-exempt or governmental organizations; |
| financial institutions; |
| brokers, dealers or traders in securities; |
| regulated investment companies; |
| pension plans; |
| controlled foreign corporations, passive foreign investment companies, and corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax; |
| qualified foreign pension funds, or entities wholly owned by a qualified foreign pension fund; |
| persons deemed to sell our common stock under the constructive sale provisions of the Code; |
| persons that hold our common stock as part of a straddle, hedge, conversion transaction, synthetic security or other integrated investment; |
| persons who hold or receive our common stock pursuant to the exercise of any employee stock option or otherwise as compensation; and |
| U.S. expatriates and former citizens or long-term residents of the United States. |
For purposes of this discussion, a non-U.S. holder is any beneficial owner of our common stock that is neither a U.S. person nor an entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A U.S. person is any person that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, is or is treated as any of the following:
| an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States; |
| a corporation created or organized under the laws of the United States, any state thereof, or the District of Columbia; |
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| an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or |
| a trust that (1) is subject to the primary supervision of a U.S. court and the control of one or more United States persons (within the meaning of Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code), or (2) has a valid election in effect to be treated as a United States person. |
This discussion does not address the tax treatment of partnerships or other entities that are pass-through entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes or persons that hold their common stock through partnerships or other pass-through entities. A partner in a partnership or other pass-through entity that will hold our common stock should consult his, her or its tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of acquiring, holding and disposing of our common stock through a partnership or other pass-through entity, as applicable.
This discussion is for general information only and is not tax advice. Accordingly, all prospective non-U.S. holders of our common stock should consult their tax advisors with respect to the U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our common stock.
Distributions on Our Common Stock
As described in the section entitled Dividends, we do not anticipate declaring or paying dividends to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. However, if we do make distributions of cash or property on our common stock, such distributions will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. If a distribution exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits, the excess will be treated as a return of the non-U.S. holders investment, up to such holders tax basis in the common stock. Any remaining excess will be treated as capital gain, subject to the tax treatment described below in Gain on Sale or Other Taxable Disposition of Our Common Stock.
Subject to the discussion in the following two paragraphs in this section, dividends paid to a non-U.S. holder generally will be subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and such holders country of residence.
Dividends that are treated as effectively connected with a trade or business conducted by a non-U.S. holder within the United States and, if an applicable income tax treaty so provides, that are attributable to a permanent establishment or a fixed base maintained by the non-U.S. holder within the United States, are generally exempt from the 30% withholding tax if the non-U.S. holder satisfies applicable certification and disclosure requirements. To claim the exemption, the non-U.S. holder must furnish to the applicable withholding agent a valid IRS Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the non-U.S. holders conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Any, such effectively connected dividends will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis at the U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to U.S. persons. Any U.S. effectively connected dividends received by a non-U.S. holder that is a corporation may also, under certain circumstances, be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and such holders country of residence.
A non-U.S. holder of our common stock who claims the benefit of an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and such holders country of residence generally will be required to provide a properly executed IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (or successor form), as applicable, to the applicable withholding agent and satisfy applicable certification and other requirements. Non-U.S. holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding their entitlement to benefits under a relevant income tax treaty. A non-U.S. holder that is eligible for a reduced rate of U.S. withholding tax under an income tax treaty may obtain a refund or credit of any excess amounts withheld by timely filing a U.S. tax return with the IRS.
Gain on Sale or Other Taxable Disposition of Our Common Stock
Subject to the discussions below under Backup Withholding and Information Reporting and Withholding and Information Reporting Requirements-FATCA, a non-U.S. holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain realized upon such non-US holders sale or other taxable disposition of shares of our common stock unless:
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| the gain is effectively connected with the non-U.S. holders conduct of a U.S. trade or business and, if an applicable income tax treaty so provides, is attributable to a permanent establishment or a fixed-base maintained by such non-U.S. holder in the United States, in which case the non-U.S. holder generally will be taxed on a net income basis at the U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to U.S. persons and, if the non-U.S. holder is a foreign corporation, the branch profits tax described above in Distributions on Our Common Stock also may apply; |
| the non-U.S. holder is a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more in the taxable year of the disposition and certain other conditions are met, in which case the non-U.S. holder will be subject to a 30% tax on the gain derived from the disposition, which may be offset by certain U.S. source capital losses of the non-U.S. holder, if any (even though the individual is not considered a resident of the United States), provided that the non-U.S. holder has timely filed U.S. federal income tax returns with respect to such losses; or |
| we are, or have been, at any time during the five-year period preceding such sale of other taxable disposition (or the non-U.S. holders holding period, if shorter) a U.S. real property holding corporation, unless our common stock is regularly traded on an established securities market as defined for purposes of applicable Treasury Regulations and the non-U.S. holder holds no more than 5% of our outstanding common stock, directly or indirectly, actually or constructively, during the shorter of the 5-year period ending on the date of the disposition or the period that the non-U.S. holder held our common stock. Generally, a corporation is a U.S. real property holding corporation only if the fair market value of its U.S. real property interests equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of the fair market value of its worldwide real property interests plus its other assets used or held for use in a trade or business. Although there can be no assurance, we believe that we currently are not, and do not anticipate becoming, a U.S. real property holding corporation. No assurance can be provided that our common stock will be regularly traded on an established securities market for purposes of the rules described above. |
Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding potentially applicable income tax treaties that may provide for different rules.
Backup Withholding and Information Reporting
We must report annually to the IRS and to each non-U.S. holder the gross amount of the distributions on our common stock paid to such holder and the tax withheld, if any, with respect to such distributions. Non-U.S. holders may have to comply with specific certification procedures to establish that the holder is not a U.S. person in order to avoid backup withholding at the applicable rate with respect to distributions on our common stock. Dividends paid to non-U.S. holders subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax, as described above in Distributions on Our Common Stock, generally will be exempt from U.S. backup withholding.
Information reporting and backup withholding will generally apply to the proceeds of a disposition of our common stock by a non-U.S. holder effected by or through the U.S. office of any broker, U.S. or foreign, unless the holder certifies its status as a non-U.S. holder and satisfies certain other requirements, or otherwise establishes an exemption. Generally, information reporting and backup withholding will not apply to a payment of disposition proceeds to a non-U.S. holder where the transaction is effected outside the United States through a non-U.S. office of a broker. However, for information reporting purposes, dispositions effected through a non-U.S. office of a broker with substantial U.S. ownership or operations generally will be treated in a manner similar to dispositions effected through a U.S. office of a broker.
Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the application of the information reporting and backup withholding rules to them. Copies of information returns may be made available to the tax authorities of the country in which the non-U.S. holder resides or is incorporated under the provisions of a specific treaty or agreement. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules from a payment to a non-U.S. holder may be refunded or credited against the non-U.S. holders U.S. federal income tax liability, if any, provided that an appropriate claim is filed with the IRS in a timely manner.
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Withholding and Information Reporting Requirements-FATCA
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and guidance issued thereunder (FATCA) imposes withholding taxes on certain types of payments made to foreign financial institutions and certain other foreign entities (including financial intermediaries). FATCA generally imposes withholding at a rate of 30% on payments to certain foreign entities of dividends on our common stock and certain other withholdable payments, unless various U.S. information reporting and due diligence requirements (generally relating to ownership by U.S. persons of interests in or accounts with those entities) have been satisfied or the entity otherwise qualifies for an exemption. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country may modify these requirements. Such withholding may apply to gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our common stock, although under proposed U.S. Treasury Regulations, no withholding would apply to such gross proceeds. The preamble to the proposed regulations specifies that taxpayers (including withholding agents) are permitted to rely on the proposed regulations pending finalization. You should consult your tax advisor regarding the potential application of FATCA to your ownership and disposition of our common stock.
The preceding discussion of U.S. federal tax consequences is for general information only. It is not tax advice. Each prospective investor should consult its own tax advisor regarding the particular U.S. federal, state and local and non-U.S. tax consequences of purchasing, holding and disposing of our common stock, including the consequences of any proposed change in applicable laws.
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We are registering the resale by the selling stockholder or its permitted transferees from time to time of up to 500,000 shares of common stock issued pursuant to the exercise of the vested portion of the Ampere Warrant purchased by the selling stockholder pursuant to the Warrant Subscription Agreement.
We are required to pay all fees and expenses incident to the registration of the securities to be offered and sold pursuant to this prospectus. The selling stockholder will bear all commissions and discounts, if any, attributable to its sale of securities.
We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the securities by the selling stockholder. The aggregate proceeds to the selling stockholder will be the purchase price of the securities less any discounts and commissions borne by the selling stockholder.
The shares of common stock owned by the selling stockholder covered by this prospectus may be offered and sold from time to time by the selling stockholder. The selling stockholder will act independently of us in making decisions with respect to the timing, manner and size of each sale. Such sales may be made on one or more exchanges or in the over-the-counter market or otherwise, at prices and under terms then prevailing or at prices related to the then current market price or in negotiated transactions. The selling stockholder may sell their securities by one or more of, or a combination of, the following methods:
| purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by such broker-dealer for its own account pursuant to this prospectus; |
| ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which the broker solicits purchasers; |
| block trades in which the broker-dealer so engaged will attempt to sell the shares as agent but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction; |
| an over-the-counter distribution in accordance with the rules of Nasdaq; |
| through trading plans entered into by a selling stockholder pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act, that are in place at the time of an offering pursuant to this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement hereto that provide for periodic sales of its securities on the basis of parameters described in such trading plans; |
| short sales; |
| distribution to employees, members, limited partners or stockholders of the selling stockholder; |
| through the writing or settlement of options or other hedging transaction, whether through an options exchange or otherwise; |
| by pledge to secured debts and other obligations; |
| delayed delivery arrangements; |
| to or through underwriters or broker-dealers; |
| in at the market offerings, as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act, at negotiated prices, at prices prevailing at the time of sale or at prices related to such prevailing market prices, including sales made directly on a national securities exchange or sales made through a market maker other than on an exchange or other similar offerings through sales agents; |
| in privately negotiated transactions; |
| in options transactions; |
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| through a combination of any of the above methods of sale; or |
| any other method permitted pursuant to applicable law. |
In addition, any securities that qualify for sale pursuant to Rule 144 or another exemption from registration under the Securities Act or other such exemption may be sold under Rule 144 rather than pursuant to this prospectus.
To the extent required, this prospectus may be amended or supplemented from time to time to describe a specific plan of distribution. In connection with distributions of the securities or otherwise, the selling stockholder may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions. In connection with such transactions, broker-dealers or other financial institutions may engage in short sales of the securities in the course of hedging the positions they assume with selling the stockholder. The selling stockholder may also sell the securities short and redeliver the securities to close out such short positions. The selling stockholder may also enter into option or other transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions which require the delivery to such broker-dealer or other financial institution of securities offered by this prospectus, which securities such broker-dealer or other financial institution may resell pursuant to this prospectus (as supplemented or amended to reflect such transaction). The selling stockholder may also pledge securities to a broker-dealer or other financial institution, and, upon a default, such broker-dealer or other financial institution, may effect sales of the pledged securities pursuant to this prospectus (as supplemented or amended to reflect such transaction).
In effecting sales, broker-dealers or agents engaged by the selling stockholder may arrange for other broker-dealers to participate. Broker-dealers or agents may receive commissions, discounts or concessions from the selling stockholder in amounts to be negotiated immediately prior to the sale.
In offering the securities covered by this prospectus, the selling stockholder and any broker-dealers who execute sales for the selling stockholder may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act in connection with such sales. Any profits realized by the selling stockholder and the compensation of any broker-dealer may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions.
If at the time of any offering made under this prospectus a member of FINRA participating in the offering has a conflict of interest as defined in FINRA Rule 5121 (Rule 5121), that offering will be conducted in accordance with the relevant provisions of Rule 5121.
In order to comply with the securities laws of certain states, if applicable, the securities must be sold in such jurisdictions only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers. In addition, in certain states the securities may not be sold unless they have been registered or qualified for sale in the applicable state or an exemption from the registration or qualification requirement is available and is complied with.
We have advised the selling stockholder that the anti-manipulation rules of Regulation M under the Exchange Act may apply to sales of securities in the market and to the activities of the selling stockholder and its affiliates. In addition, we will make copies of this prospectus available to the selling stockholder for the purpose of satisfying the prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act. The selling stockholder may indemnify any broker-dealer that participates in transactions involving the sale of the securities against certain liabilities, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act.
At the time a particular offer of securities is made, if required, a prospectus supplement will be distributed that will set forth the number of securities being offered and the terms of the offering, including the name of any underwriter, dealer or agent, the purchase price paid by any underwriter, any discount, commission and other item constituting compensation, any discount, commission or concession allowed or reallowed or paid to any dealer, and the proposed selling price to the public.
We have agreed to indemnify the selling stockholder against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act and state securities laws, relating to the registration of the shares offered by this prospectus.
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Pursuant to the Warrant Subscription Agreement, we have agreed to keep the registration statement of which this prospectus constitutes a part effective through the earliest of (i) three years from the date the initial registration statement covering the registrable securities under the Subscription Agreements is declared effective, (ii) the date on which subscriber no longer owns the Ampere Warrant or (iii) the first date on which subscriber can sell the Ampere Warrant (or shares received in exchange therefor) without any condition or limitation under Rule 144.
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The validity of any securities offered by this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Cooley LLP.
The consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and for the year ended December 31, 2022 and eleven months ended December 31, 2021, incorporated by reference in this Prospectus and in the Registration Statement have been so incorporated in reliance on the report of BDO USA, LLP (n/k/a BDO USA, P.C.), an independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated herein by reference, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the Registration Statement, over the internet at the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, including any amendments to those reports, and other information that we file with or furnish to the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act can also be accessed free of charge on the Investor Relations section of our website, which is located at investors.rigetti.com. These filings will be available as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Our website address is www.rigetti.com. Information contained on or accessible through our website is not a part of this prospectus and is not incorporated by reference herein, and the inclusion of our website address in this prospectus is an inactive textual reference only.
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference information into this prospectus from other documents that we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus and information we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. Any statement contained in this prospectus or a previously filed document incorporated by reference will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus or a subsequently filed document incorporated by reference modifies or replaces that statement. The documents we are incorporating by reference as of their respective dates of filing are (in each case, other than those documents or the portions of those documents not deemed to be filed, including the portions of these documents that are furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of a Current Report on Form 8-K, including any exhibits included with such Items):
| our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on March 27, 2023; |
| our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, filed with the SEC on May 11, 2023, for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 filed with the SEC on August 10, 2023 and for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, filed with the SEC on November 9, 2023; |
| our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 27, 2023, February 10, 2023, June 21, 2023, July 13, 2023 and October 31, 2023 and Current Report on Form 8-K/A filed with the SEC on February 16, 2023; and |
| the description of securities contained in a Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed on March 1, 2022, as updated by Exhibit 4.4 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on March 27, 2023, together with any amendment or report filed with the SEC for the purpose of updating such description. |
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Notwithstanding the foregoing, information furnished under Items 2.02 and 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K, including the related exhibits under Item 9.01, is not incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement.
All documents we subsequently file pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (in each case, other than those documents or the portions of those documents not deemed to be filed, including the portions of these documents that are furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of a Current Report on Form 8-K, including any exhibits included with such Items), prior to the termination of this offering, including all such documents we may file after the date of the initial registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement, but excluding any information furnished to, rather than filed with, the SEC, will also be incorporated by reference into this prospectus and deemed to be part of this prospectus from the date of the filing of such reports and documents.
You may obtain any of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus from the SEC through the SECs website at the address provided above. You also may request a copy of any document incorporated by reference in this prospectus (excluding any exhibits to those documents, unless the exhibit is specifically incorporated by reference in this document), at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following address and phone number:
Rigetti Computing, Inc.
775 Heinz Avenue
Berkeley, California 94710
Attn: General Counsel
(510) 210-5550
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