IonQ to Acquire Zero Trust Firm Elisity for Up to $1.3 Billion in Stock

IonQ entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Elisity, Inc., a Zero Trust security company, in an all-stock transaction valued at up to $1.3 billion, the College Park, Maryland-based quantum platform company announced on October 12, 2026.

Under the terms of the agreement, the transaction value includes up to $150 million in earnout opportunity subject to the performance of the Elisity business. The number of IonQ shares to be issued will be calculated at closing based on the volume weighted average price of IonQ common stock for the 20 trading days prior to, but not including, the third business day before the closing date, and that per-share price will not be greater than $49.61 or less than $33.07. IonQ expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions including receipt of required regulatory approval.

The acquisition pairs IonQ’s post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and quantum key distribution (QKD) capabilities with Elisity’s enterprise Zero Trust technology platform. IonQ said the combined company will operate an expanded cybersecurity platform that both uncovers and protects against present large language model (LLM) and emerging quantum threats, serving enterprise and government networks.

Niccolo de Masi, Chairman and CEO of IonQ, said the company is offering customers a vertically integrated full-stack quantum platform across quantum computing, networking, sensing and cybersecurity. “Just as adding SkyWater Technology (SKYT ) 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,” de Masi said.

“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 that with IonQ, Elisity will partner with customers to modernize their crypto-agility programs, accelerate post-quantum cryptography capabilities, advance their holistic Zero Trust posture, and deploy hybrid-cybersecurity solutions prepared for the quantum future.

IonQ said the acquisition allows it to accelerate securing the nation for the quantum era, pointing to a White House executive order issued on June 22, 2026. The company said recent White House executive orders advancing quantum innovation and accelerating the federal government’s migration to PQC underscore the urgency of the transition and reinforce the importance of securing critical systems and preparing government networks for quantum-era threats.

Elisity’s Zero Trust Platform

Elisity’s IdentityGraph product combines native asset identity and partner-enriched context with risk information to inform least-privilege access policy for users, devices, workloads and AI agents. According to the companies, teams can simulate policies before limiting each identity to the communications it needs, helping reduce attack surface and contain an attack’s spread. The combined roadmap will pair cryptographic protection for sensitive information and communications with identity-based controls that limit unauthorized access and the spread of threats across enterprise networks.

IonQ said Elisity brings more than 100 global customer deployments, deep relationships with chief information security officers and the security community, and a track record of doubling its revenue and its customer base year-over-year with zero churn among deployed customers. IonQ characterized the microsegmentation opportunity opened to it by the acquisition as more than $10 billion with a double-digit compound annual growth rate (CAGR), and said Elisity’s channels will help bring its PQC, QKD and quantum computing offerings to enterprise and government customers.

The companies said their shared roadmap will extend IdentityGraph with cryptographic inventory and risk information, an integrated approach intended to help customers address quantum-related security risks through a multiyear transition while strengthening defenses against current cyberattacks, including threats involving AI agents. Following closing, Elisity will continue serving its customers under its current leadership, including Winebrenner.

IonQ’s Quantum-Safe Operations

IonQ said it has deployed some of the largest quantum-safe national communications networks in the world, including in Switzerland, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, and that it serves global customers with quantum-safe defense in depth spanning quantum-safe posture management, QKD and PQC. The company reported 40% year-over-year growth in multiproduct revenue in the second quarter of 2026, and said customers are increasingly adopting multiple IonQ products and services, which it described as evidence of demand for integrated solutions.

IonQ and Elisity said they expect opportunities to cross-sell complementary security solutions, expand relationships with enterprise and government customers, and develop integrated offerings.