Geeks name it Q-Day. The remainder of the world calls it doomsday. 

However, what’s so dreadful within the Q? It stands for quantum pc – one which’s extra highly effective than any constructed but – and the day is when such a tool would shatter the world of privateness and safety.

And, how would it not be doable? A bravura act of maths, involving separation of some very massive numbers, say, working tons of of digits, into their prime components. These numbers might crack open all of the delicate data saved below digital locks. 

A quantum pc can essentially undermine the encryption protocols that governments and companies have trusted for many years by resolving calculations that may take greater than 10,000 years in lower than 10 minutes. The identical utility concurrently drives drug discoveries forward by a long time. The truth is, it’s this superposition that defines the ability of quantum computing. 

So, Schrödinger’s cat will be useless and alive on the identical time? 

It might probably’t be found out until the cat is out of the field. However there’s a small drawback – there’s little scope in quantum physics to imagine the destiny of the cat until then. 

Sunil Gupta, a cybersecurity veteran and entrepreneur, primarily based his years of expertise on the core concept of engaged on quantum cryptography coming from IIT Madras professor Anil Prabhakar and deeptech entrepreneur Srinivasa Rao Aluri and teamed up with know-how veteran Mark Mathias in establishing QNu Labs again in 2017. 

“It’s this relative chance that triggered our curiosity in quantum safety,” Gupta mentioned. The thought, in line with the chief government, was easy: regardless of India spending billions of {dollars} on cybersecurity yearly, incidents of cybercrime are solely rising exponentially. India’s complete organisational value of information breach reached a file INR 22 Cr this yr, clocking a 13% on-year surge.

Because the nation’s $1 Tn digital economic system sprints to make up a fifth of the nationwide revenue by FY30, cyberthreats are quick turning right into a pandemic, calling for an pressing resolution. “We needed to seek out out if quantum cryptography might do that.” 

At a time when tech giants like IBM, Microsoft and Google are focussed on constructing scalable quantum computer systems, QNu Labs claims to have pioneered quantum cryptography and encryption options. 

Earlier than there’s a bolt from the maybe-future, it’s higher to brace for the worst. 

Staying Forward Of The Clock

Researchers for the reason that Nineteen Nineties knew that quantum computing, which attracts on the properties of subatomic particles to hold out a number of calculations on the identical time, would possibly some day threaten the encryption techniques broadly in use at the moment. 

The hazard was not about future breaches alone, however for previous ones, too. Troves of encrypted information could possibly be unlocked after the so-called Q-Day. 

Nobody is aware of when, if ever, quantum computing will attain that diploma. As we speak, the quickest quantum pc is the Condor, developed by IBM, with 1,121 superconducting qubits, because the quantum equal of transistors are referred to as. That determine would in all probability want to achieve tens of hundreds, possibly hundreds of thousands, earlier than at the moment’s encryption techniques crash.

“Though the world is but to have its scalable quantum computer systems, as soon as that occurs, and the hackers get entry to such computer systems, they may break the arithmetic and mind behind the encryptions, which has extraordinarily advanced arithmetic,” Gupta mentioned.

QNu Labs was incubated on the IIT Madras Analysis Park by a gaggle of ultra-HNIs with a $3 Mn funding in 2016. The thought initially was to construct one thing in deeptech. Constructing a robust founding staff took a while. The enterprise operations took off in 2017 with QNu starting to construct a quantum random quantity generator (QRNG) and a quantum key distribution (QKD).

However the recreation staggered even earlier than it might decide up tempo. 

‘God Does Not Play Cube’ 

The phrases of Albert Einstein got here to hang-out the founders once they didn’t get the funds wanted to construct the primary batch of merchandise. 

“We confronted challenges as we have been means forward in time. When in 2018 we constructed our first merchandise, we have been no less than 15 years forward, and no VC needed to danger their investments by parking cash into QNu at the moment,” Gupta recounted.

That’s when QNu broke down its total journey of constructing the merchandise into 4 phases: proof of science, proof of tech, proof of enterprise, and proof of scale. This primarily allowed the startup to dedicate just a few extra years to constructing the science itself.

“We spent months gathering perception into quantum physics. We received some protocols completed, and constructed the electronics and {hardware}.” In 2019, the corporate secured its first buyer from Saudi Arabia, with an INR 1 Cr order.

Alternatives started pouring in since, significantly from the defence house, together with the armed forces, Defence Analysis and the Growth Organisation (DRDO), following a win within the iDEX problem. In addition to, analysis institutes and R&D labs additionally began procuring its quantum cryptography options.

In 2021, QNu arrange India’s first quantum lab for the Indian armed forces at Mhow Cantonment Space in Indore.

It raised its first institutional spherical from Speciale Make investments the identical yr. In 2023, it raised $6.5 Mn in its pre-Collection A1 funding spherical with Fortunate Investments’s Ashish Kacholia becoming a member of the captable. The startup has to this point raised about $20 Mn, which incorporates its current INR 60 Cr ($7 Mn) funding led by the Nationwide Quantum Mission.

However what’s it that’s being created at QNu Labs? 

Constructing For A Quantum World

QNu Labs generates qubits, that are the fundamental unit of data in quantum computing, however makes these atoms randomly collapse into zero or one – from quantum state to classical state – that ensures classical keys of encryption are generated even when hackers attempt to crack codes utilizing quantum computer systems.

“When I’ve to ship you a chunk of data and guarantee no person is listening, I cannot ship the classical data on the optical fibre, I might somewhat ship quantum data. Now, if any person tries to repeat the data whereas it is occurring the optical fibre, it should collapse with our quantum cryptography. The second it collapses, errors will happen in my system, and the data will probably be destroyed, flagging that somebody was making an attempt to faucet into it,” Gupta defined. 

That’s why QNu discovered its largest use case in defence, the place armed forces keep related by way of optical fibre networks. QKD is a safe communication methodology that makes use of quantum mechanics to generate and distribute cryptographic keys, guaranteeing safe information transmission.

Its QKD product, Armos, and QRNG product, Tropos, have about 10 patents, and they’re largely deployed as a platform with {hardware} and software program functions. The {hardware} half is available in bins which can be often deployed within the information centres, whereas the appliance will be put in throughout laptops, iPads, and cellphones.

The corporate additionally has options for securing drones, satellites, and WiFi communications.

The world has now give you algorithms referred to as post-quantum cryptography (PQC), mentioned Gupta, explaining that they supply extra safety towards assaults from quantum computer systems and can change the prevailing advanced algorithms in cryptographic techniques. QNu remained forward there as properly, and has constructed a product, named Hodos.

From defence, QNu has expanded to enterprise clients world wide.

Decrypting The Prospects For QNu 

The $1.88 Bn world quantum economic system is roaring at 27.3% a yr to achieve $4.89 Bn by 2029, setting enterprise capitals speeding with a $2 Bn corpus in 2025 alone. No surprise, on the wheel of this progress sits cryptosecurity, a $245.62 Bn market, projected to just about double to $500.7 Bn by 2030, as on-line threats are set to surge with the usage of synthetic intelligence (AI) and quantum computing. 

A World Financial Discussion board report means that 40% of organisations world wide have began to take proactive steps to evaluate and perceive the quantum menace. 

QNu claims to be one step forward in assessing and making the perfect use of this rising market wants. A gentle rise in its income displays the rising demand for its options. QNu clocked INR 24 Cr in income in FY24. The corporate hopes to have practically doubled the income in FY25, although the audited outcomes are but to be out. 

However, profitability remains to be far-off as the corporate is investing closely in know-how constructing. “We’re investing within the subsequent three to 5 years of know-how. We’re constructing chips that may change these bins (the {hardware} half), and therefore scale back the shape issue,” he mentioned. “We’re constructing a quantum dome for India, a safe quantum protect, which can comprise completely different items of know-how. Not solely optical fibres, tomorrow’s laptops, cellphones, satellites, drone and submarine networks, each wi-fi community must be quantum secure.”

With a stack filled with tech able to fight cybersecurity threats in a quantum world, QNu hopes to outline India’s technological prowess past AI. 

[Edited By Kumar Chatterjee]