The quantum computing company IonQ has agreed to buy the network security company Elisity for up to $1.3 billion in stock, as IBM warns that fewer than 10% of organisations are ready for the quantum threat to encryption.
IonQ agreed on 12 October 2026 to buy Elisity in an all-stock deal valued at up to $1.3 billion, according to The Quantum Insider. The deal includes up to $150 million in performance-based earnout payments. The number of IonQ shares will be calculated using a price range of $33.07 to $49.61 per share, and the report does not give an expected closing date.
Elisity was founded in 2019 and makes software that stops attackers and ransomware from spreading through an organisation’s network, according to the report. The platform contains lateral movement after an intrusion, and its customers include healthcare providers and hospitals.
IonQ’s chief executive, Niccolo de Masi, presented the deal as a response to cybersecurity risks from advances in quantum and AI technology. The company aims to build “a vertically integrated full-stack quantum platform” covering computing, networking, sensing and cybersecurity, according to the report. He said that “Q-Day is coming much faster than predicted”, a reference to the point when quantum computers could defeat current encryption. That is the executive’s view and not an established date.
Elisity’s chief executive, James Winebrenner, said that customers need to modernise their crypto-agility programmes while also securing existing systems, according to the report.
A warning on the same subject came from IBM. Its vice president for Europe and Africa, Alessandro Curioni, said that organisations are unprepared for the risks of quantum computing and that fewer than 10% have become quantum-safe, according to a Phys.org report in search results. He said the technology could eventually break the encryption that protects banks, digital signatures and blockchain networks. The article itself was not opened, so these details come from a summary.
The US Government Accountability Office reissued, with revisions, a report on 14 October titled Quantum Computing: Federal Actions Needed to Prepare for Emerging Cyber Threat, according to a search result. The summary says that quantum computers could break cryptography on federal systems and put sensitive data at risk. The sources reviewed do not give the report’s recommendations.
The terms of the Elisity deal can be put in perspective. The price range of $33.07 to $49.61 per share means that the number of IonQ shares issued will vary: at the lower price more shares would be needed to deliver the same value, and at the higher price fewer. The report does not say what price will apply or how much of the $1.3 billion is guaranteed and how much depends on the earnout of up to $150 million.
The three items share a theme. Companies that sell quantum hardware are arguing that the threat to encryption is near, which also supports demand for their security products, and readers should keep in mind that IonQ has a commercial interest in the claim. The sources reviewed do not give an independent estimate of when quantum computers could break current encryption.
The sources reviewed do not say how Elisity’s technology relates to quantum-safe encryption, since its software is described as containing network intrusions, which is a different problem, and Delima News does not assess the fit between the two businesses.
Image: An IBM quantum computer (file photo; a stand-in image). Photo: IBM Research / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
