Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on solutions in cybersecurity. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we want to share our insights with you. This time, we are taking a look at 5 promising quantum cryptography startups.
Heat Map: 5 Top Quantum Cryptography Startups & Companies
Using our StartUs Insights Platform, covering 1.116.000+ startups & emerging companies, we looked at innovation in the cybersecurity field. For this research, we identified 53 relevant solutions and picked 5 to showcase below. These companies were chosen based on a data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and technology among others. Depending on your specific criteria, the top picks might look entirely different.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 startups & emerging companies developing quantum cryptography solutions across industries. Moreover, the Heat Map reveals regions that observe a high startup activity and illustrates the geographic distribution of all 53 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
KETS – Quantum Key Distribution
Today’s cryptographic methods allow for quick data exchange, and moreover, quantum algorithms will one day allow for decoding data as well. The technology of quantum distribution of cryptographic keys solves one of the main tasks of cryptography which is enabling guaranteed distribution of keys between remote users over open communication channels. This allows subscribers to generate a random key used in encryption or authentication. Quantum cryptography allows for a constant and automatic change of keys when transmitting each message in a one-time block cipher mode.
UK-based startup KETS develops a low power quantum key distribution chip to enable safe communications and protect sensitive data. This chip integrates into secure communication systems or existing deployments to provide data that is quantum-secure. Additionally, this technology defends networks against malevolent third parties, as well as conventional hacks and quantum attacks.
Quantum Numbers Corp – Quantum Random Number Generation (QRNG)
A frequent change of secret keys in quantum cryptography is possible, but it requires a large consumption of random numbers. The QRNG chip generates a sequence of numbers, which forms the basis for strong passwords. The numbers are so random that anticipating the generator becomes difficult. Additionally, the QRNG chip also implements another feature of quantum cryptography, notifications of any attempts to intercept messages.
Canadian startup Quantum Numbers Corp provides an innovative quantum tunneling solution to generate truly random numbers. The QNG2 chip enables diverse circuit products with hardware encryption to secure Internet of Things (IoT) communication, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) connections, networking equipment, mobile & internet transactions, and cloud-based applications. The QRNG technology ensures high speed, true randomness, and scalability at considerably lower costs than other current technologies.
Sixscape – Quantum-Safe Cryptography
Advancements in quantum computers have enabled cracking commonly used encryption algorithms like RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) with speed compared to traditional computers. Quantum-safe cryptography addresses this security threat by updating the certificates with quantum-safe protocols. The main success in the field of quantum-safe cryptography was the creation of practical encryption algorithms based on lattice theory. These algorithms are based on linear algebra and include the problem of finding the shortest vector.
Singaporean company Sixscape works with various certification authorities and vendors to create next-generation quantum-safe algorithms. The company creates crypto agile solutions to use in digital certificates, digital signatures, and encryption. The startup delivers quantum-safe technology across quantum cryptography industry platforms to ensure customers are safe from future quantum attacks.
CryptoNext – Digital Post-Quantum Signature
Protocols for electronic digital signatures exist to ensure the integrity of any electronic documents, as well as the authenticity and non-repudiation of its author. With the advent of quantum computers, digital signature algorithms have potentially lost their durability since it was based on problems that classical computers could solve with lesser efficient algorithms. A quantum hash function with a set of qubits converts the original key into a quantum state which in turn increases the security of signatures.
French startup CryptoNext develops a cryptographic library that offers quantum-safe signatures and key-exchanges using key encapsulation mechanism. The library is the result of quantum-safe algorithms written in C that are easy to integrate into security protocols or security products. This solution enables the selection of the most promising quantum-safe algorithms as per Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standards and aids in the post-quantum standardization process.
Flipscloud – Post-Quantum Encryption
Commonly used encryption algorithms and other Advanced Encryption Standards (AES) such as 128 bits or 256 bits are easily crackable with the help of quantum and cloud computing. Post-quantum encryption allows for implementing algorithms to crack any passwords relatively quickly based on current encryption algorithms.
Taiwanese company Flipscloud provides quantum level encryption services that defend most networks from cyber attacks. The company creates quantum level encryption solutions to protect adaptive defense technology on the Internet of Things, cloud services, and big data. Flipscloud deploys public-key cryptography infrastructure and builds quantum computing resistant counterparts.
What About The Other 48 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence so you can achieve your goals faster. The 5 quantum cryptography solutions showcased above are promising examples out of 53 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria, get in touch.
