QuintessenceLabs, a world leader and one of Australia’s first commercial quantum cybersecurity companies, has today announced that it has raised $25 million in capital funding from Main Sequence and Canada’s TELUS Ventures.
The company creates quantum-safe cybersecurity solutions that Fortune 500 companies and government organisations use to secure their data against hacking or ransomware attacks.
The funding was raised with Mizuho Financial Group-backed InterValley Ventures and Terry Snow’s Capital Property Groups participation. QuintessenceLabs will use this funding to double its team and expand globally.
QuintessenceLabs
Founded in 2008 out of Canberra, QuintessenceLabs provides data protection products to a world where keeping data safe is more important than ever. They help organisations protect their data, wherever it is: on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid IT ecosystems.
The company offers a strong security foundation for data. Featuring centralised enterprise key and policy management, a high-speed true random number generator, an integrated hardware security module, and highly secure encryption for data in uncontrolled environments
QuintessenceLabs Founder & CEO Dr. Vikram Sharma said, “As computing technology becomes more powerful, the encryption we use to protect our data becomes more vulnerable. We need encryption that is strong enough to protect the systems we depend upon.”
Since being founded, QuintessenceLabs quantum cybersecurity technology has won awards across the globe, including two World Economic Forum awards for Technology Pioneer in 2018 and Global Innovator in 2020.
Funding
The newly enquired funding emphasises QuintessenceLabs’ commitment to providing quantum-safe crypto solutions and services to support security communities worldwide.
Main Sequence is an Australian deep tech investment fund founded by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO. TELUS Ventures is the strategic investment arm of TELUS Corporation and one of Canada’s most active and longest-standing corporate venture capital (CVC) funds.
Dr. Sharma said, “We are delighted to have secured investments from Main Sequence and TELUS Ventures and be recognised for our breakthrough commercialisation of quantum-enhanced cybersecurity solutions.”
He continued: “Safeguarding data—our most valuable resource—has never been more critical and we look forward to this exciting new growth stage while continuing to develop world-leading solutions to secure our increasingly digital lives.”
“TELUS is at the forefront of network security practices with an eye on the future of quantum-safe technologies,” said Mario Mele, Vice President Corporate Strategy, TELUS Ventures.
“We’re pleased to align with the leader in this space to gain a broader lens into cybersecurity innovations and how they may impact our industry.”
Quantum computing
The emergence of quantum computing is the next most significant threat to data and information. Quantum computing capabilities and power transcend current computing, making today’s information vulnerable to quantum computing attacks and data breaches.
Quantum computers have exponentially greater processing power than traditional computers, promising extraordinary capabilities that will revolutionise computing. This powerful new technology will enable dramatic improvements in fields such as chemistry, artificial intelligence, financial modelling, weather forecasting, and more.
However, they will also have impacts on cybersecurity that require us to change how we protect our data; this is of significant concern. It will become necessary for organisations to start assessing their cybersecurity measures from a quantum-safe perspective.
“As computing power increases exponentially, the tools needed to secure critical data and assets must stay several steps ahead,” said Bill Bartee, Partner at Main Sequence.
“Dr. Sharma and the team at QuintessenceLabs are global leaders in developing quantum-based cybersecurity tools that help protect sovereign and commercially sensitive information. We’re excited to support the QuintessenceLabs’ team as they scale their business and provide customers with a critical layer of protection.”
As quantum computing becomes mainstream, quantum cybersecurity will become a pillar of a robust cybersecurity strategy for most organisations.
With the funding and investment they have received, QuintessenceLabs is well-positioned to be a global leader in providing organisations with appropriate cybersecurity in a complex cyber threat environment.
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