New Delhi, June 23 -- In April, Bengaluru-based quantum cybersecurity startup QNu Labs became one of just eight startups selected for funding under the National Quantum Mission (NQM)-a Rs.6,000 crore initiative led by the Department of Science and Technology (DST). As part of its Series A round, QNu Labs raised Rs.60 crore, with NQM contributing Rs.25 crore. The remaining Rs.35 crore came from existing and new investors, including Lucky Investment, Speciale Invest, Tenacity Ventures, and Singularity AMC.

Announced in November 2024, this funding marks a milestone in India's push toward quantum technology. Notably, QNu Labs is the only startup among the eight focused specifically on quantum security, co-founder and CEO Sunil Gupta told TechCircle. In addition to capital, the NQM investment includes access to critical infrastructure, mentorship, and industry linkages aimed at accelerating commercial deployment.

"This is an equity-based partnership, and it also includes a performance mandate," Gupta said. "NQM has set an ambitious goal of building a quantum-safe intercity communication network. To that end, we are slated to demonstrate a 500 km end-to-end quantum-safe communication network by late June or mid-July."

This demonstration is towards one of the key objectives of NQM, which is to enable satellite-based secure quantum communication across 2,000 km within India, and to build capabilities for cross-border secure quantum links.

Notably, the public sector, including the armed forces, has been QNu Labs' earliest customer. In 2022, QNu Labs won the iDEX Open Challenge 2.0 and developed a 150-km quantum key distribution (QKD) system, which was tested with the Indian Army. Backed by a grant from the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), the company also has a hub-and-spoke QKD network and secured its first major order from the Indian Armed Forces to build quantum-secure wireline networks.

In a bid to move towards a recurring revenue model, QNu Labs launched its enterprise SaaS platform called QShield. The platform offers solutions such as quantum-safe VPN, secure file sharing, messaging and collaboration, and vault service

"Unlike government procurement, enterprises consume technology differently. To meet their needs, we transformed our hardware-driven products into a SaaS offering. QShield is an enterprise-grade, subscription-based solution. Think of it as the "Uber model" for quantum security," explained Gupta.

Beyond the enterprise platform, QNu Labs' flagship solutions include QKD solution Aramos; Tropos for quantum random number generation; and Quantum Hardware Security Module (QHSM) for safeguarding sensitive cryptographic keys and operations.

Founded in 2016 by Gupta, Srinivasa Rao Aluri, Mark Mathias, and Anil Prabhakar, QNu Labs was incubated at IIT-Madras. The company has grown to a workforce of more than 100 people. The tech talent team spans a multidisciplinary mix of optics, digital electronics, computer science, mathematics, and physics experts.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from TechCircle.