PQShield, a London-based testing startup specialised in the fairly niche and complex post-quantum cryptography technology, confirmed to QA Financial it has raised $37 million in fresh funding.
The firm, which specialises in advanced testing solutions for software as well as hardware and communications, said the capital allocation round was led by Addition, with a range of new investors coming on board, including Chevron Technology Ventures, Legal & General and Braavos Capital, together with existing backer Oxford Science Enterprises.
PQShield will use the funding to expand its commercial operations as it continues to meet growing global demand for its quantum-ready cryptographic-powered testing solutions, the company shared.
Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) is the development of cryptographic algorithms that are thought to be secure against a cryptanalytic attack by a quantum computer.
Currently, most quantum computers lack the processing power to break widely used cryptographic algorithms, but developers are rapidly testing and designing new algorithms to prepare for when current algorithms will be vulnerable to quantum computing attacks.
PQShield’s CEO and founder, Ali El Kaafarani, stressed the new funding will be crucial for the firm to expand its reach and scope.
“We are already getting our technology into the hands of customers across the supply chain, and today’s funding will enable us to deliver real-world, post-quantum hardware and software upgrades and tests to even more organizations as they move to comply with new global standards,” El Kaafarani said.
He added that “it is our responsibility to deliver security and privacy in an increasingly digital world. Every line of code we write, every mathematical problem we solve, and every test we run is focused on one specific goal: keeping us all one step ahead of the attackers.”
Rapid growth
Since it was founded in 2018, PQShield has established a global team of engineering experts who have designed and launched a host of solutions for use in software, and the cloud.
Recent strategic US hires include Johannes Lintzen, who joins from Cryptomathic as Global Business Development Director, and Janssen Liston, who joins from Rambus as North America Senior Sales Director.
Investor Todd Arfman of Addition explained his decision to embrace PQShield further as an investment objective.
“As we approach the culmination of the NIST project, we expect newly-ratified standards to help drive rapid adoption of PQC across the technology supply chain,” Arfman said.
“Led by an industry-leading team with decades of experience, PQShield has quickly established itself as an authority in post-quantum cryptography,” he added.
As well as advising and testing businesses on the transition to quantum security, the company plans to also continue to support governments, industry bodies and cybersecurity agencies as they develop guidance around the migration to PQC, the firm stressed.
Industry standards
The National Institute of Standards & Technology’s (NIST) post-quantum cryptography standards are due to be ratified in a matter of weeks, PQShield stressed, “marking an inflection point in the global transition to quantum security.”
NIST’s standards are likely to be adopted by the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO).
With new global standards in place and a series of government directives, such as the US National Security guidance, mandating the migration of critical digital systems to PQC from 2025, “it’s now a commercial imperative to adopt PQC,” the firm argued.
“This is particularly so where a financial organisation has sensitive or critical data it needs to keep secure for any length of time, in fact, if they haven’t already started planning the transition, they are already behind,” PQShield claimed.
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