Ken Griffin has quietly placed a new bet on quantum computing, buying into a stock that some on Wall Street believe could more than double from here. His move highlights how a once-esoteric technology is starting to attract serious hedge fund capital, even as the risks remain extreme and the business models are still taking shape.
I want to unpack what Griffin bought, why analysts see as much as 101% upside, and how this fits into a broader shift that has seen billionaires rotate out of Big Tech mainstays and into speculative quantum names. The numbers are eye catching, but the story behind them is even more revealing about where the next wave of computing disruption might come from.
Ken Griffin’s new quantum wager
Ken Griffin, the billionaire founder of Citadel, has built a reputation as one of the most data driven investors in the market, so when his firm adds a new position in a frontier technology, it tends to get noticed. According to its latest 13F filing, Citadel purchased 169,057 shares of D-Wave Quantum, a company that trades on the NYSE under the ticker QBTS and focuses on quantum computing hardware and software. The stake is small relative to Citadel’s overall portfolio, but it is large enough to signal that Griffin wants direct exposure to this emerging field rather than just watching from the sidelines.
Filings show that the purchase came in the third quarter, a period when several prominent hedge fund managers were reshuffling their tech exposure. While it is impossible to know Griffin’s precise thesis, the timing lines up with a broader pattern of billionaires trimming mega cap positions and reallocating to more speculative growth stories. In D-Wave Quantum’s case, the attraction is a mix of differentiated technology, a growing customer base, and a Wall Street narrative that now includes the possibility of a triple digit percentage gain from current levels.
Why Wall Street sees up to 101% upside
The headline number that has grabbed attention is a Wall Street forecast that D-Wave Quantum could climb as much as 101% from where it currently trades. Analysts who cover the stock argue that if the company executes on its roadmap and the market assigns it a valuation more in line with high growth software and hardware peers, the shares could effectively double. That potential is what has been highlighted in recent coverage of Griffin’s move, which notes that he bought a quantum computing stock that some on Wall Street believe could soar by that 101% figure.
Those projections are not guarantees, and even bullish analysts acknowledge that the path will be volatile and heavily dependent on execution. One detailed breakdown notes that while it is impossible to know exactly how Griffin values the company, the case for upside rests on more classic valuation assessments, such as revenue growth, margin expansion, and the potential for recurring software and cloud contracts to re-rate the stock. As of Dec, the same analysis points out that institutional investors with structures akin to Griffin’s position are treating D-Wave as a high risk, high reward satellite holding rather than a core allocation, a nuance that helps explain why the upside estimates are paired with repeated warnings about volatility in valuation assessments.
Inside D-Wave’s quantum annealing technology
What sets D-Wave Quantum apart from many of its peers is its focus on quantum annealing, a specific approach to quantum computing that is particularly well suited to optimization problems. Instead of trying to build a universal gate based quantum computer that can, in theory, run any algorithm, D-Wave has concentrated on systems that use quantum annealing technology to find low energy solutions in complex problem spaces. Reporting on the company emphasizes that D-Wave Quantum is developing computing systems that use this annealing approach, positioning it as a specialist in tasks like route optimization, portfolio construction, and scheduling where classical algorithms can struggle to find the best answer quickly, a distinction that is central to the Wave Quantum story.
That focus has allowed D-Wave to move faster than some rivals in putting real hardware into the hands of paying customers, including through cloud based access models. The company offers quantum processing units that can be accessed via APIs, letting developers and enterprises experiment with annealing based solutions without owning the machines themselves. While gate based systems from other players may ultimately prove more flexible, D-Wave’s bet is that a specialized tool that solves a narrow set of high value problems today can carve out a defensible niche and generate the kind of revenue growth that underpins the bullish price targets now circulating on Wall Street.
How Griffin’s bet fits a broader billionaire rotation
Griffin is not the only billionaire leaning into quantum computing while trimming exposure to more established tech names. In the third quarter, several wealthy hedge fund managers sold shares of Amazon and redirected capital into smaller quantum players, a shift that underscores how some of the most sophisticated investors are willing to trade a portion of their NASDAQ: AMZN exposure for a shot at outsized gains in a nascent industry. One detailed review notes that, in the same period when these managers were selling Amazon, they were also adding tens of thousands of shares of Rigetti, signaling a clear appetite for quantum risk.
That pattern is echoed in coverage that tracks how billionaires sell Amazon stock and buy quantum computing stock, highlighting that this is not a one off curiosity but part of a broader rebalancing. The logic is straightforward: after a long run in mega cap tech, the incremental upside in names like AMZN may look modest compared with the potential of companies that could redefine computing itself if their technology works at scale. Griffin’s purchase of D-Wave Quantum fits neatly into that narrative, suggesting that he, too, is willing to allocate a sliver of capital to a sector where the payoff profile is asymmetric, even if the probability of success is uncertain.
Two quantum stocks up 3,750% and 1,770% since 2023
The enthusiasm around quantum is not purely theoretical, as some of the sector’s stocks have already delivered extraordinary returns. Reporting on Griffin’s activity points out that he has bought into two quantum computing stocks that have posted staggering gains since 2023, with one up 3,750% and another up 1,770% over that period. Those figures, cited verbatim as 3,750% and 1,770%, illustrate just how explosive the price action can be when a tiny company in a hot narrative catches investor imagination.
In a more granular breakdown, analysts note that Ken Griffin bought small positions in Rigetti Computing and D-Wave Quantum in the third quarter, and that every Wal Street analyst covering these names expects further upside despite the already dramatic moves. That same analysis emphasizes that the gains since January 2024 have been particularly intense, with one of the stocks having gained 1,770% since that point, a statistic that is highlighted in a section where Wall Street analysts unanimously expect the rally to continue. For investors watching from the sidelines, those numbers are both enticing and a reminder that parabolic charts can reverse just as quickly.
Rigetti Computing’s role in the quantum portfolio
Rigetti Computing is the other key name in Griffin’s quantum basket, and it plays a different role than D-Wave despite operating in the same broad field. While D-Wave focuses on quantum annealing, Rigetti is working on gate based quantum processors that aim to be more general purpose, closer to the long term vision many people have when they think about quantum computers. In the third quarter, billionaire investors including Griffin added positions in Rigetti, with one detailed account noting that a prominent fund added 51,700 shares of Rigetti as part of a broader rotation into the space.
Analysts who follow Rigetti argue that its upside case rests on achieving technical milestones that prove its processors can outperform classical systems on specific tasks, and then monetizing that advantage through cloud access and partnerships. Coverage of Griffin’s purchases notes that he bought small positions in Rigetti Computing and D-Wave Quantum in the third quarter, and that these stakes are sized to reflect the binary nature of the outcome: if the technology delivers, the payoff could be enormous, but if it stalls, the downside could be severe. That is why many commentators stress that even for billionaires, positions in companies like Rigetti should be kept very small relative to the overall portfolio, a point made explicitly in analysis that urges investors to keep any positions very small.
What Wall Street is really betting on
When I look past the eye catching price targets and percentage gains, what stands out is how Wall Street is framing the quantum opportunity. Analysts are not just betting on hardware, they are betting on an ecosystem that includes cloud access, software development kits, and industry specific applications in fields like logistics, finance, and drug discovery. In the case of D-Wave Quantum, coverage emphasizes that the company is already working with customers who use its annealing systems to tackle real world optimization problems, and that recurring revenue from these engagements is a key input into the bullish models that see the stock potentially rising by as much as 101%, a narrative that is central to the According to Wall Street framing.
At the same time, there is a recognition that quantum remains a long duration story, and that many of the most ambitious use cases are still years away from commercial viability. That is why some of the more nuanced commentary around Griffin’s move stresses that his positions are exploratory rather than conviction core holdings, and that investors should view them as options on a future where quantum computing becomes mainstream. The fact that names like Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon are invoked in some of this coverage, as foils to Griffin’s more aggressive stance, underscores how divided the investing world remains on whether it is better to wait for clearer proof or to place small bets early in the cycle.
Signals from insiders and institutional flows
One of the more intriguing subplots in the D-Wave Quantum story is the behavior of insiders relative to outside investors like Griffin. Detailed reporting notes that D-Wave insiders are selling, with executives and early backers trimming their stakes even as hedge funds build new positions. That tension is highlighted in analysis that points out how D-Wave insiders have been active sellers this year, a fact that sits uneasily alongside the bullish narrative about potential 101% upside and is explicitly flagged in a section that examines insiders are selling.
Institutional flows, by contrast, show a gradual build in positions from hedge funds and other professional investors who are comfortable with the volatility. Citadel’s 169,057 share purchase is one example, but it sits alongside other funds that have added both D-Wave and Rigetti to their books. For individual investors, this split between insider selling and institutional buying is a reminder to look beyond headlines and consider who is on the other side of the trade. It also reinforces the idea that even sophisticated players can disagree sharply about value in a market where traditional metrics are hard to apply and the technology itself is still evolving.
How retail investors should read Griffin’s move
For everyday investors watching Ken Griffin buy a quantum stock that Wall Street says could jump 101%, the temptation is to treat his move as a green light. I think the more responsible takeaway is that even one of the world’s most successful hedge fund managers is approaching this space with caution, sizing his positions modestly and spreading his bets across multiple names. Coverage that tracks his activity makes clear that he bought small positions in Rigetti Computing and D-Wave Quantum, and that these sit within a much larger, diversified portfolio, a context that is sometimes lost when the focus is on the headline upside figures in Ken Griffin just bought stories.
Retail investors also need to remember that quantum stocks can move on hype as much as on fundamentals, especially when related video clips about AI and high flying names like Hut 8, Google backed deals, and Worldwide crypto narratives are circulating alongside coverage of these companies. One widely shared piece, for example, pairs discussion of D-Wave’s potential with a related video about Hut 8 stock jumping 20% after a massive Google backed AI deal, a juxtaposition that can blur the lines between very different risk profiles in the minds of less experienced traders, as seen in the section that references Related Hut 8 stock. The smarter approach is to treat Griffin’s move as a signal that quantum is worth watching, not as an instruction to chase the same names without a clear understanding of the risks.
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Grant Mercer covers market dynamics, business trends, and the economic forces driving growth across industries. His analysis connects macro movements with real-world implications for investors, entrepreneurs, and professionals. Through his work at The Daily Overview, Grant helps readers understand how markets function and where opportunities may emerge.
