Waterloo, Ontario-based agile quantum-safe security solutions company ISARA announced that it has raised $10 million (USD) in Series A funding led by Shasta Ventures. This investment builds on ISARA’s initial capital of $11.5 million (USD) from Quantum Valley Investments, which is a venture firm founded by BlackBerry co-founder and former CEO Mike Lazaridis. More investors will be announced in the coming weeks. With this funding, it enables ISARA to scale globally to address threats posed by quantum computers.
Experts are predicting that quantum machines will be able to crack the current encryption standards that protect connected devices like medical devices, financial systems, power plants, automobiles, and military equipment. To counter these measures, ISARA is building quantum-resistant encryption.
“Shasta’s investment recognizes the fundamental role security will play in the Quantum Age,” said ISARA CEO Scott Totzke in a statement. “The global economy and our daily lives are built around a secure online ecosystem that will crumble in the face of a full-scale quantum computer. Ensuring that the many significant benefits of quantum computing can be realized requires a robust set of quantum-safe security and encryption practices that are practical, affordable and agile. ISARA is focused on providing solution providers, enterprises and governments with the tools they need to enter the Quantum Age with confidence and optimism. The enthusiastic response of investors like Shasta in our Series A offer reinforces the need for what we do.”
Lazaridis pointed out that Shasta’s investment is another validation of the role that the Quantum Valley in the Waterloo Region plays in the next wave of technology. And he said that the concentration of intellectual talent in the region is unmatched anywhere else in the world.
“Quantum computing requires a wholesale, generational rethinking of how we secure the digital environment,” added Shasta Ventures partner Nitin Chopra in a statement. “ISARA is the clear leader as the only company with commercial solutions that can be implemented today. Complex systems used by corporations and governments will take years to migrate to a quantum-safe state and smart organizations are already beginning the transition.”
