As quantum computing and AI evolve, traditional encryption methods face an unprecedented threat.
James Nguyen, Co-Founder & CEO of
Quantropi, discusses how his company is pioneering quantum-secure cryptography to safeguard digital trust and protect data from future cyber risks. Learn more in his exclusive
Website Planet interview below.
Can you tell me a few details about Quantropi and its founding story?
Quantropi was established in January 2018 with a powerful vision: to safeguard digital trust and ensure the integrity of data and communications in an increasingly interconnected world. Our mission is clear—to enable the internet today to be secure against future Quantum-AI hybrid threats.
My co-founder, Dr. Randy Kuang, a distinguished quantum physicist and cybersecurity expert, and I bring together diverse expertise—my background in banking complements Randy’s deep knowledge of quantum mechanics. Our paths crossed in late 2017 when I represented a major investor in leading an investment round for Inbay Technologies, a pioneering company in the identity and authentication sector. It was here that I first met Dr. Kuang, a co-founder of Inbay. Despite our different backgrounds, we are united by an unwavering commitment to safeguarding truth and trust—two essential pillars of our global digital society.
We recognized that as AI and quantum computing continue to advance, traditional cryptographic defenses are becoming obsolete. We founded Quantropi to protect against this looming Quantum-AI hybrid threat, ensuring that businesses, governments, and defense institutions have access to cutting-edge quantum-secure cryptography before it’s too late.
At Quantropi, we’re committed to delivering quantum security that enables organizations to protect their data and communications, TODAY, rather than being blindsided against current and future threats.
For those unfamiliar with the term, can you explain what Post Quantum Security is?
Post-Quantum Security (PQS), also known as
Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC), refers to cryptographic solutions designed to withstand the advancing power of quantum computers when they become powerful enough to break today’s encryption standards.
Today’s encryption relies on complicated math problems, think Einstein-level calculus, like breaking down large prime numbers. This makes data unreadable unless you have the correct secret key. For decades, these problems have been so difficult that even the most powerful supercomputers couldn’t crack them in any reasonable time. This math helps protect sensitive information, like your credit card details, during online transactions.
But
quantum computers change the game. With their exponential processing power, they will be able to crack traditional encryption methods in a fraction of the time, jeopardizing the security of banking transactions, confidential government data, intellectual property, and defense information.
That’s where
Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) comes in. It’s not about using quantum technology for encryption but rather developing new types of mathematical problems that even quantum computers won’t be able to break. The goal is to ensure that data at rest and data in transit remain secure, even in a future where quantum computing is a reality.
At Quantropi, we go beyond standard PQC by offering the new
NIST standard algorithms along with Quantropi’s own
novel cryptographic solutions, empowering our customers with crypto-agility to switch between standard and novel algorithms. This innovative approach helps protect commercial and defense organizations from emerging Quantum-AI threats, both now and in the future.
How does the QiSpace platform work?
The QiSpace™ platform is a hybrid B2B SaaS platform designed to provide quantum-secure encryption. It has three core components: MASQ™, QEEP™ and SEQUR ™, You can think of them like the Microsoft Office 365 suite, but instead of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, you get asymmetric encryption (MASQ™), symmetric encryption (QEEP™), and entropy-as-a-service (SEQUR ™).
MASQ™– Asymmetric Encryption Suite
MASQ™ is an asymmetric Encryption suite. It is a cryptographic library that supports NIST-approved Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms for providing secure key exchange and digital signatures. It also includes Quantropi’s novel post-quantum cryptography algorithms designed to be very efficient on platforms and networks with limited resources, like Internet of Things (IoT) devices. It offers significant performance advantages, including smaller digital signature sizes compared to other current NIST PQC options.
QEEP™– Symmetric Encryption Suite
QEEP™ is the symmetric encryption solution, comparable to Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-256), but it is benchmarked at up to 18x faster than AES. Quantropi’s QEEP™ encryption provides a significant advantage where low latency is a requirement such as connected vehicles, satellite communications, and tactical networks. QEEP™ can be combined with AES in a Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) compliant approach to provide in-depth defense with minimal impact on performance.
SEQUR ™– Entropy-as-a-Service
The security of encryption is only as strong as the randomness (also known as entropy) of the numbers used to create those encryption keys. Quantropi’s SEQUR™ provides scalable high-performance quantum entropy as a service (QEaaS) for secure distribution of entropy created from quantum hardware-based random number generators (QRNGs) to endpoints over existing network infrastructures. We collaborate with world-class partners like Quintessence Labs from Australia, ID Quantique from Switzerland, and QuSide from Spain to ensure quantum entropy source diversity.
QiSpace™ is designed to future-proof encryption, ensuring that organizations stay ahead of quantum computing and AI threats while maintaining speed, security, and scalability.
What is MPPK and what benefits does it provide to its users?
MPPK (Multivariate Polynomial Public Key) is a family of asymmetric encryption functions whose mathematical foundations are based on multivariate polynomial equations. While this classic cryptographic system offers excellent performance, it originally had vulnerabilities to quantum attacks. However, Quantropi’s research led to breakthroughs that eliminated these weaknesses, evolving MPPK into a post-quantum asymmetric encryption system known as HPPK (Homomorphic Polynomial Public Key).
This new version retains the speed and efficiency of MPPK while adding symmetric and homomorphic encryption properties, making it a more secure, unique, and powerful solution in the post-quantum cryptography space. The key benefits include small key sizes, fast computation, and a small memory footprint, making it scalable and ideal for applications with limited resources, such as IoT, embedded systems, and mobile devices.
What can we expect from the company going forward?
Quantropi is at the forefront of
real-world quantum security, making significant progress in both commercial and defense security space.
We are collaborating with industry leaders like
STMicroelectronics, Renesas, and
Microchip to
integrate post-quantum security into IoT and embedded systems. Our support extends to chipsets, ranging from high-performance MPUs to ultra-low-power MCUs, aimed at enhancing security in IoT and embedded applications.
We have also announced our participation in the
Palo Alto Networks-led industry consortium working to develop a standard QRNG Open API Framework. This will make it easier than ever to use quantum entropy from QiSpace SEQUR™ to enhance cryptographic security.
Our QiSpace SEQUR™ PPK Generator, available as a browser plug-in Chrome, Edge, and Firefox, enhances the security of IPsec VPNs through quantum-secure encryption. It works seamlessly with Palo Alto’s Next-Generation Firewalls to protect organizations’ data and communications, both now and in the future.
We continue to maintain a strong focus on both civilian and defense applications as a dual-use company. In fact, we recently achieved a significant milestone by becoming the
first Post-Quantum Cryptography company to deploy quantum-safe military radios in Ukraine, securing communications in real-world combat situations. Over the next six months, we’ll engage with NATO innovation centers conducting extensive testing of these quantum-secure tactical radios, ensuring they meet the highest security and performance standards.
From financial institutions to government and defense agencies, we are committed to providing quantum-resilient solutions worldwide, pushing the boundaries of post-quantum security in the years to come.
To stay updated with
Quantropi’s latest advancements, visit
www.quantropi.com. You can also subscribe to our Q-Review Newsletter (
lp.quantropi.com/q-review) for exclusive Quantropi insights and updates delivered to your inbox.
Connect us at
lp.quantropi.com/contact → If you or someone in your network would like to learn more about our solution offerings.
