Insider Brief:
- QNu Labs raised approximately $7 million in a Series A round led by India’s National Quantum Mission, bringing its total funding to $20 million.
- The company will use the funding to expand its QShield quantum-safe security platform, scale R&D, and pursue international deployments.
- QNu’s hardware-based solutions—featuring QKD, QRNG, and PQC—will be able to secure critical sectors against potential quantum threats, with government backing reinforcing its strategic relevance.
- Image Credit: Entrepreneur India
Quantum cybersecurity company QNu Labs has raised INR 60 crore (approximately $7 million) in a Series A funding round led by India’s National Quantum Mission, a central government initiative under the Department of Science and Technology. According to a release from Entrepreneur India, the NQM contributed INR 25 crore (approximately $3 million) as the lead investor. Other participants in the round include Lucky Investment, Speciale Invest, Tenacity Ventures, and Singularity AMC. With this round, QNu’s total funding now stands at approximately $20 million.
The Bengaluru-based company will use the new capital to scale its product offerings, accelerate R&D, expand commercial deployments, and strengthen international partnerships. According to QNu, a major focus will be supporting the global rollout of its QShield platform, launched earlier this month on World Quantum Day.
Quantum-Safe Security Infrastructure
Founded in 2016 and incubated at IIT Madras, QNu Labs develops hardware-based quantum cybersecurity solutions intended to protect essential communications against both current and future threats, including those potentially posed by the developmentlarge-scale quantum computers. As quantum computing capabilities progress, the public key encryption systems that are a central part of today’s internet infrastructure are expected to become vulnerable to quantum-enabled attacks. QNu’s products are designed to preempt these risks by integrating quantum-safe mechanisms at the protocol level.
Specifically, QShield is a security-as-a-service platform comprising multiple quantum-resilient components:
- Quantum key distribution: A method for securely distributing cryptographic keys using quantum states, making interception detectable due to the no-cloning theorem and measurement-induced disturbance.
- Quantum random number generators: Devices that can generate true randomness, enhancing entropy in encryption systems beyond the limits of classical pseudorandom generation.
- Post-quantum cryptography: Algorithms designed to resist attacks from both classical and quantum computers.
These technologies are designed to secure sensitive data across high-stakes sectors such as financial services, defense, telecom, and healthcare. According to Entrepreneur India, the QShield platform integrates these technologies to intentionally provide layered security adaptable to different threat models and infrastructure environments.
Government Backing and Deep Tech Focus
The NQM’s participation in this funding round is notably one of its more high-profile commercial investments since the mission’s launch in 2023. The mission’s goals include accelerating domestic quantum R&D, supporting the development of quantum hardware and software, and promoting commercialization across strategic sectors.
In a statement quoted in the release, QNu Labs CEO and Co-founder Sunil Gupta called the NQM’s investment “a strong validation” of the company’s vision to make quantum-safe security foundational to the digital infrastructure. Chairman and Co-founder Aluri Srinivasa Rao added that “India’s DeepTech revolution is empowering cybersecurity innovation,” positioning QNu as one of the country’s leading companies in this space.
QNu Labs’ investor base includes a mix of venture capital and private equity firms with a track record in deep tech. Vishesh Rajaram, Managing Partner at Speciale Invest, described QNu as “deep tech at its purest,” while Lucky Investment’s Ashish Kacholia emphasized that the company’s technology “is ahead of the curve.” Rohit Razdan of Tenacity Ventures noted that QNu is “redefining how the world thinks about security.”
International Ambitions
According to statements from the company, a significant portion of the Series A funding will be used to scale the international availability of QShield. This includes expanding cloud-native deployment models for quantum-safe modules and engaging with public and private sector stakeholders globally.
While several global companies are advancing QKD and post-quantum security protocols, particularly in East Asia, North America, and Europe, QNu is one of the few India-based companies providing commercially deployed, hardware-integrated quantum-safe solutions. Its development aligns with broader Indian government efforts to strengthen the country’s infrastructure.
With fresh funding from both public and private sources, QNu Labs will work towards advancing its security stack across a range of applications. The support from the National Quantum Mission also exemplifies the role government participation could play in commercial quantum ventures, especially in areas where national security and digital sovereignty intersect with quantum technologies.
