Adam Spatacco, The Motley Fool

Thu, Jun 19, 2025, 7:00 PM5 min read

• Companies such as IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and D-Wave Quantum are among some of the more popular quantum computing stocks right now.

• Despite robust share price returns, Nvidia is quietly building a quantum computing business that investors might not want to overlook.

• While Nvidia stock has been rising lately, valuation trends suggest the stock is still reasonably priced.

• 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›

Over the last year, a quantum-computing-themed fund called the Defiance Quantum ETF has rocketed by 41%. Among some of the biggest contributors to these gains are popular quantum computing stocks such as IonQ, whose shares have soared by 394% over the last year -- as well as Rigetti Computing and D-Wave Quantum, both of which have witnessed share price gains in excess of 1,000%.

With such robust returns, these three red-hot quantum computing stocks might seem like no-brainers. Nevertheless, I have another company on my radar that I think will outperform these stocks in the long run.

Let's explore how Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is starting to emerge as an interesting opportunity in the quantum computing landscape. More importantly, I'll detail why the company is my top pick in the space and assess if the stock is a good buy right now.

Nvidia reports its revenue into five major buckets: data center, gaming, professional visualization, automotive, and other. Today, nearly 90% of the company's revenue stems from the data center segment.

This makes sense, as cloud hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon, as well as other major AI developers, including Meta Platforms and Oracle, have been on a relentless buying spree for Nvidia's chips over the last couple of years as they continue investing in data center infrastructure.

What investors may not realize, however, is that Nvidia isn't just a hardware company. It also has a thriving software unit that integrates tightly with the GPU business.

The company's CUDA programming platform complements the chip business -- essentially creating an ecosystem of AI-powered software and hardware. This tight integration provides Nvidia with a competitive advantage over the competition, making it challenging for customers to switch to alternative platforms. This savvy business model has put Nvidia ahead of the pack when it comes to being the vendor of choice for generative AI development.

Nvidia is already parlaying the CUDA application to quantum computing, aptly naming the program CUDA-Q. Let's explore why Nvidia's pursuit of quantum computing could be a lucrative move for the company.