IonQ Agrees to Acquire Elisity in Deal Worth Up to 1.3 Billion

Quantum computing company IonQ has agreed to acquire cybersecurity firm Elisity in an all-stock transaction valued at up to $1.3 billion, aiming to combine quantum-safe cryptography with enterprise network security. Announced on October 12, 2026, the deal is designed to help corporate and government customers defend against current cyberattacks while preparing for emerging threats associated with quantum computing.

According to the announcement, the transaction includes an earnout opportunity of up to $150 million tied to Elisity's business performance. The acquisition would expand IonQ's cybersecurity portfolio by integrating its post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and quantum key distribution (QKD) capabilities with Elisity's Zero Trust security platform.

Elisity brings more than 100 global customer deployments, established relationships with chief information security officers, and a recurring-revenue business. The company has recorded year-over-year doubling in both revenue and customer base, according to IonQ, with no customer churn among deployed customers.

IonQ expects the combination to create opportunities to sell complementary security products to existing enterprise and government clients. The company also cited the microsegmentation market, which it values at more than $10 billion and describes as growing at a double-digit compound annual growth rate.

IonQ Chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi said the acquisition would strengthen the company's ability to protect critical infrastructure and enterprise networks as organizations prepare for quantum-era security risks.

"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," said Niccolo de Masi, Chairman and CEO of IonQ.

Elisity's platform uses its IdentityGraph technology to combine asset identities with contextual and risk information. Organizations can use these insights to establish least-privilege access policies for users, devices, workloads and artificial intelligence agents, limiting communications to those required for legitimate operations.

The companies plan to extend IdentityGraph with cryptographic inventory and risk information. Their combined approach is intended to pair encryption and secure communications with identity-based controls that restrict unauthorized access and limit the spread of attacks across enterprise networks.

Elisity CEO James Winebrenner said the combination would help customers address immediate security requirements while preparing for the transition to post-quantum cryptography.

"Our customers need to prioritize post-quantum cryptography initiatives while securing existing assets to keep essential operations running," said James Winebrenner, CEO of Elisity.

Winebrenner said the partnership would support cryptographic modernization and strengthen organizations' broader Zero Trust security strategies.

"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."

Following the closing, Elisity will continue serving customers under its existing leadership, including Winebrenner. IonQ said the companies also expect to develop integrated cybersecurity offerings and expand their relationships across enterprise and government networks.

IonQ reported 40% year-over-year growth in multiproduct revenue in the second quarter of 2026, reflecting increased customer adoption of multiple products and services. The company has also deployed quantum-safe national communications networks in Switzerland, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, according to the acquisition announcement.

The number of IonQ shares to be issued will be calculated at closing using the volume-weighted average price of IonQ common stock over the 20 trading days preceding, but excluding, the third business day before closing, according to the announced transaction terms.