IonQ acquires cybersecurity startup Elisity for up to $1.3 billion in stock

Quantum computing firm IonQ announced an all-stock acquisition of Zero Trust security startup Elisity on October 12, 2026. The deal is valued at up to $1.3 billion, with $1.15 billion paid at closing and additional payments tied to future revenue targets. IonQ stated the purchase grants it access to Elisity's enterprise and government customer relationships rather than representing a quantum computing breakthrough. The company's leadership cited impending government deadlines for upgrading encryption standards as a key driver for the acquisition, despite no current quantum computer being capable of breaking modern encryption.