IONQ is set to acquire Elisity in a stock-only deal valued at up to $1.3 billion, with up to $150 million of that as earnout contingent on Elisity’s performance. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2026, and IonQ noted that the number of shares issued will depend on its volume-weighted average price over the 20 trading days prior to closing, capped between $33.07 and $49.61.
Elisity, founded in 2019, provides least-privilege access controls that determine which users, devices, workloads and AI agents can communicate on enterprise networks. Its IdentityGraph combines Elisity’s data with information from partner tools to inform access decisions, and the company claims more than 100 customer deployments and over $70 million raised.
IonQ’s portfolio already spans quantum computing, networking, sensing and security, including post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and quantum key distribution (QKD). The two companies said they will integrate cryptographic inventory and risk data into IdentityGraph to help organisations prioritise post-quantum upgrades based on business risk and critical operations. Elisity’s CEO James Winebrenner and his management team will remain in charge after the deal.
IonQ’s leadership emphasised the approach of aligning zero-trust protections with PQC strategies, noting that Q-Day is approaching and corporate and federal entities are accelerating migration to quantum-secure cryptography.