Elisity

Cybersecurity · Quantum Computing

Acquisition

IonQ to acquire Zero Trust security firm Elisity for up to $1.3 billion

Quantum computing's threat to encryption is becoming cybersecurity's biggest sales pitch and acquisition driver.

• IonQ agreed to acquire Zero Trust cybersecurity company Elisity in an all-stock deal worth up to $1.3 billion, including up to $150 million in performance-based earnouts.
• Elisity, founded in 2019 and led by CEO James Winebrenner, sells microsegmentation software that blocks hackers and ransomware from moving laterally across enterprise networks, including hospitals and healthcare systems.
• IonQ shares issued to Elisity will be priced between $33.07 and $49.61 each based on IonQ's 20-day volume-weighted average price before closing, which is expected in Q4 2026.
• Elisity has more than 100 global enterprise deployments, zero customer churn, and has doubled both revenue and customer base year-over-year, per IonQ.
• The deal opens access to a microsegmentation market IonQ values at more than $10 billion with double-digit annual growth, pairing Elisity's platform with IonQ's post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution technology.
• This is IonQ's latest deal in an acquisition spree that includes a $1.8 billion agreement earlier in 2026 to acquire chipmaker SkyWater Technology, as CEO Niccolo de Masi builds a vertically integrated quantum platform.
• IonQ shares fell roughly 2.7% in premarket trading on news of the all-stock deal, which values IonQ's own stock at about $16 billion based on its prior close.
• The acquisition shows quantum computing firms racing to position themselves as cybersecurity providers ahead of 'Q-Day,' when quantum machines could break today's encryption standards.