IonQ Buys Zero-Trust Firm Elisity for Up to $1.3 Billion — Quantum Threat Planning Arrives in Network Security

Quantum computing company IonQ agreed on October 12 to acquire Elisity, a zero-trust network security firm, in an all-stock deal worth up to $1.3 billion. Elisity sells software that controls which users, devices, workloads, and AI agents can communicate across a network — essentially a software-based policy layer for network access that works independent of your underlying hardware. IonQ's play here is pairing that technology with its post-quantum cryptography work, getting ahead of the so-called harvest now, decrypt later threat — where adversaries collect encrypted data today and plan to decrypt it once quantum computers become capable enough. Elisity's customers include hospital networks and pharmaceutical companies, so healthcare and critical infrastructure IT teams should pay attention. This deal is expected to close in Q4 2026. Nothing changes for Elisity customers immediately, but partner programs and pricing structures may shift post-close. It's also a signal: quantum-readiness is moving from a theoretical future concern into actual buying decisions in the network security market.