IonQ has signed a definitive agreement to buy Elisity, a Zero Trust security specialist, in an all-stock deal worth as much as $1.3bn.
The move pairs quantum-era encryption with identity-based network defence as enterprises prepare for the arrival of quantum-capable attackers.
The transaction combines IonQ’s post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and quantum key distribution (QKD) technology with Elisity’s enterprise Zero Trust platform. Together, the businesses aim to offer a broader cybersecurity proposition designed to detect and defend against both current threats linked to large language models and quantum risks that are still emerging.
Elisity has consistently doubled its revenue and customer numbers each year, and none of its deployed customers have left. With more than 100 deployments worldwide and close ties to chief information security officers and the wider security community, the company gives IonQ new routes to market for its PQC, QKD and quantum computing products across enterprise and government networks. The deal also opens IonQ to the microsegmentation market, valued at over $10bn and growing at a double-digit compound annual rate.
Organisations are now balancing two pressing demands: halting attacks that move at machine speed and safeguarding sensitive data against future quantum-enabled decryption. Recent White House executive orders promoting quantum innovation and speeding up the federal shift to PQC have added urgency, pushing government bodies to harden critical systems ahead of quantum-era threats.
Elisity’s core product, IdentityGraph, merges native asset identity with partner-supplied context and risk data to set least-privilege access rules for users, devices, workloads and AI agents. Security teams can test policies in simulation before restricting each identity to only the connections it requires, shrinking the attack surface and limiting how far a breach can spread.
Under a joint roadmap, IdentityGraph will gain cryptographic inventory and risk data, allowing customers to manage quantum-related exposure over a multiyear transition while reinforcing defences against today’s attacks, including those involving AI agents.
Once the deal completes, Elisity will keep serving its clients under its existing management team, led by CEO James Winebrenner.
IonQ has already built some of the world’s largest quantum-safe national communications networks, including deployments in Switzerland, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Its layered quantum-safe defence covers posture management, QKD and PQC.
Customers are increasingly buying several IonQ products, and the company reported 40% year-on-year growth in multiproduct revenue in the second quarter of 2026. Both firms anticipate cross-selling complementary security tools, deepening enterprise and government relationships and building integrated offerings.
IonQ chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi said, “With Elisity and its team as part of IonQ, we will be well positioned to help customers protect critical infrastructure and enterprise networks throughout the transition to the quantum era. As I said first, Q-Day is coming much faster than predicted. IonQ is offering its customers a vertically integrated full-stack quantum platform across quantum computing, networking, sensing and cybersecurity.
“Just as adding SkyWater Technology expanded IonQ’s capabilities in chip design, fabrication and packaging, Elisity will bring proven enterprise policy enforcement scale and deployment experience to our quantum security strategy and will give IonQ a strong growth platform to serve customers and create value for our shareholders.”
Elisity CEO James Winebrenner said, “Our customers need to prioritize post-quantum cryptography initiatives while securing existing assets to keep essential operations running. With IonQ, we will be optimally positioned to partner with them to modernize their crypto-agility programs, accelerate post-quantum cryptography capabilities while advancing their holistic Zero Trust posture and deploy hybrid-cybersecurity solutions today that are prepared for the quantum future.”
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