Quarkslab

Cybersecurity · Defense · Aerospace

Acquisition

Airbus completes acquisition of French cyber firm Quarkslab

The deal folds a defense supplier directly into its buyer, tightening Europe's push for sovereign, in-house cyber capability.

• Airbus Defence and Space has finalised its acquisition of French cybersecurity company Quarkslab after securing regulatory approvals.
• Founded in 2011 and based in Paris and Rennes, Quarkslab has about 100 employees and builds QShield, a platform that protects software and code against AI-driven threats and reverse-engineering.
• Quarkslab had been backed by asset manager Tikehau Capital since 2020 and was already an Airbus supplier and partner before the takeover.
• The deal follows Airbus's acquisition of Germany's Infodas in 2024 and the UK's Ultra Cyber Ltd in March 2026, building a cybersecurity footprint across France, the UK, Germany, Spain and Finland.
• Airbus shares dipped about 1% to roughly €188 the morning the deal was confirmed.
• Governments are increasingly steering defense-adjacent cyber capability toward domestic, vertically integrated owners rather than private-equity-backed independents, and this deal is a clear marker of that shift.