A Bristol firm at the cutting edge of data protection and cyber security has received £3.1m to market its pioneering encryption hardware.
University of Bristol spin-out KETS Quantum Security has developed one of the world’s first protection systems against quantum security threats, starting with chip-based, quantum-safe encryption development kits. 
While quantum computers, such as those being developed by IBM, Microsoft and Google, promise to create a new generation of supercomputers, they also pose a critical threat to current cyber security encryption.
Experts fear quantum attacks on communications is rapidly approaching ‘Q-Day’ when all the private information currently encrypted and sent around the world becomes public and easily readable by a quantum computer.
KETS’ technology will enable quantum-safe data centre back-ups to ensure banking information, which most financial services providers are moving to the cloud, is quantum-safe and secure.
It will also allow telecoms providers to flexibly and securely control their networks and alert them to new attacks on their systems.
The firm’s new funding, which follows a £2m round in 2018, will be used to accelerate development, production and delivery of its first products.
It will also enable KETS to expand key first trials of the technology in real-world applications and environments that are already in development.
To deliver all of this, KETS will continue building a world-leading team passionate about the company’s technology and values. The firm will continue to expand into the global marketplace beyond its first international office, which has recently been established in Paris.
The funding round was co-led by Paris-based Quantonation, which specialises in deep physics start-ups, and Speedinvest, a Vienna-based venture capital fund specialising in pre-seed, seed and early-stage tech start-ups, with participation from London and Lisbon-based early stage investor Mustard Seed MAZE.
KETS Quantum Security CEO and co-founder Dr Chris Erven said: “In today’s world, we don’t go 30 seconds without touching digital technology of some kind, all of which is networked, none of which is quantum-safe.
“At KETS, we’ve made it our mission to protect the world’s most valuable resource – information – from the threat of quantum computing.
“This investment will allow us to make quantum-safe communications solutions ubiquitous and easily integrated. Ultimately, KETS is building a world in which we can trust our digital connections as much as our personal ones.”
Quantonation partner Olivier Tonneau said: “KETS is reaching a key point in its story, with products that will now be available to deploy, bringing clients the world’s first on-chip, quantum-secured solutions protecting against the future threat of quantum computers.”
Speedinvest principal Rick Hao added: “KETS is developing technology with a vision to solve some of the global cybersecurity challenges faced by the largest organisations by combining the power of quantum encryption technologies with the scalability and practicality of integrated, chip-based quantum photonics.
“Bristol is leading the world on building quantum technology hardware, and Speedinvest is excited to be backing great deep tech entrepreneurs here.”
KETS was formed in the University of Bristol’s Quantum Engineering Technology Labs by Drs Philip Sibson, Jake Kennard and Chris Erven in 2016 after winning 2015’s New Enterprise Award staged by the SETsquared incubator in Bristol.
