QNu Labs raises ₹200 crore as demand for quantum-safe security builds

The funding will support technology development and global expansion as governments and enterprises prepare for a shift towards quantum-safe cybersecurity infrastructure

QNu Labs, a leading deep-tech cybersecurity company building quantum-safe solutions, has raised Rs 200 crore in a Series A1 round led by the National Quantum Mission and Speciale Invest, with participation from Sony Innovation Fund, Gaja Capital and Artha Ventures, among other investors. The round takes QNu Labs’ total capital raised to Rs 375 crore, marking a significant milestone in its journey to build and scale India-born quantum-safe cybersecurity technology for global markets.

 

The fresh capital will be deployed to accelerate R&D, deepen QNu Labs’ technology leadership, and scale its sales and go-to-market capabilities across India and global markets. A part of this funding will be used as QNu's contribution towards the approved project funded under RDI to build the technology backbone of India’s Quantum Secure and Sensing Networks (IQSN). The investment will enable the company to further extend its quantum-safe technology stack by expanding into quantum sensing and AI. It would also help extend deployments across critical sectors and build the capabilities required to address the rapidly emerging global demand for quantum-safe migration.

 

 

With a decade-long head start in the space, QNu Labs is now positioned to move from pioneering the technology to scaling its adoption globally as enterprises prepare for one of the largest cybersecurity transitions ahead.

 

Sunil Gupta, co-founder, QNu Labs, said India has moved early in the quantum era. He said the National Quantum Mission, through its IIT Madras hub, has laid the foundation and, with implementation timelines published in 2026 across sectors, quantum-safe technology is shifting from policy to commercial deployment.

 

“QNu Labs has spent over a decade building this stack and has already deployed across government, critical infrastructure and BFSI,” said Gupta. “Investment in indigenous capability now gives India a clear opportunity: secure its expanding digital infrastructure with sovereign technology that meets global standards and competes in global markets.”

 

QNu Labs, incubated at IIT Madras in 2016, was founded by Srinivasa Rao Aluri and Sunil Gupta. The company has a team of about 160 engineers, physicists and mathematicians and serves clients globally across critical infrastructure and other sensitive sectors.

 

The investment comes at a pivotal moment for quantum cybersecurity, as enterprises and governments worldwide prepare for the transition to quantum-safe infrastructure, and India’s National Quantum Mission is setting an aggressive timeline of 2029. With quantum computing and AI expected to fundamentally challenge existing encryption systems, organisations are increasingly evaluating migration to cryptographic technologies designed to withstand current and future quantum and AI attacks.

 

“With approximately 80 per cent of this round coming from new investors globally, it is a strong signal that global conviction in quantum-safe security is building, and QNu is at the centre of it,” said Gupta.

 

The latest round also reflects the growing confidence in India’s deep-tech ecosystem and its ability to develop globally relevant technologies from within the country. The participation of Sony Innovation Fund, alongside the National Quantum Mission, Speciale Invest, Gaja Capital and Artha Ventures, reflects increasing interest from both global and domestic investors in India’s quantum and cybersecurity capabilities.

 

Gopal Jain, co-founder and managing partner, Gaja Capital, said quantum-safe security is becoming national infrastructure — as essential to a digital economy as power and transport are to a physical one. He said QNu Labs has spent a decade building a full stack in India and is already deployed in the environments where trust matters most: critical infrastructure, government and BFSI. “What attracted us is that the science is done and the demand curve is turning — this is now a scaling problem, and that is where we work best,” said Jain.

 

The rise of quantum migration is one of the largest technology migrations in history and a strategic imperative for governments and businesses alike. For India, this transition represents not only a cybersecurity challenge but also an opportunity to establish itself as a global hub for quantum-safe technology and innovation.

 

Vishesh Rajaram, managing partner, Speciale Invest, said his firm first backed QNu Labs five years ago, convinced that quantum-safe security would move from the laboratory to the mainstream. “That conviction is now playing out at scale, with governments and enterprises worldwide racing to prepare for the quantum era,” said Rajaram.

 

Ravindra Barlingay, CEO, IITM C-DOT Samgnya Technologies Foundation (National Hub for Quantum Communication), said sovereignty in the quantum era will rest on the technologies and products a nation can build, secure and trust as its own. “QNu Labs’ progress in quantum-safe cybersecurity, and the strong global and domestic investor interest it has attracted, marks a meaningful milestone in the maturation of India’s deep-tech ecosystem,” said Barlingay. “QNu Labs’ trajectory will be closely watched as India advances its ambition to build trusted, sovereign and globally competitive quantum technologies and products, and to take its place among the world’s leaders in the quantum age.”

 

Yoko Fukata, director and head of Sony Ventures India, Sony Innovation Fund, said the fund is actively investing across the deep-tech sector, with a strong focus on India’s rapidly growing ecosystem. “We look forward to collaborating with the (QNu) team as it scales its solutions across global markets,” said Fukata.