By Mackenzie Tatananni

Quantum Computing CEO and President William McGann is retiring, the company said, roughly a year after he was appointed top executive.

McGann will step down effective May 12, Quantum Computing said. The company's board has formed a committee to find his successor and Chairman Yuping Huang will serve as interim CEO and president.

McGann joined the company in September 2021 as a member of the board. He transitioned to chief operating and technology officer in January 2022 before receiving his latest promotion in February 2024.

Quantum Computing works closely with research laboratories, and counts NASA and Los Alamos National Laboratory among its clients. The company specializes in photonic hardware, which uses particles of light for data processing instead of electrons.

During his tenure, McGann oversaw a handful of projects including the launch of the Dirac-3 quantum optimization machine -- its first machine tailored to solve complex optimization problems -- in March 2024.

McGann also led the development of the company's foundry initiative, which is slated to begin production in early 2025. The foundry will process the materials used in the photonic chips that power certain quantum machines.

There hasn't been much material news to nudge stock prices higher as of late. As pure-play quantum companies are pre-revenue, they trade largely on headlines and sentiment shifts.

Shares slid during Nvidia's inaugural "Quantum Day" on March 20, with both D-Wave and Quantum Computing seeing double-digit percentage declines.

Quantum Computing stock plunged that evening in after-hours trading when it reported fourth-quarter financial results. Total revenue fell, operating expenses climbed, and the company posted a wider net loss than the prior year in the quarter.

Shares of Quantum Computing closed flat on Thursday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell slightly. The benchmark S&P 500 was up 0.1%.

Peers Rigetti Computing and IonQ ended the session up 0.9% and 4.8%, respectively. D-Wave Quantum fell 0.3%.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

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April 18, 2025 16:25 ET (20:25 GMT)

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