IonQ agreed to acquire cybersecurity company Elisity for up to $1.3 billion.
Why it matters: The deal would expand IonQ beyond quantum computing into zero-trust network security and post-quantum risk management. The final value will depend on IonQ's share price and whether performance-based payments are earned.
- IonQ says the maximum announced value includes up to $150 million in performance-based earnout consideration.
- The base share consideration uses IonQ's 20-trading-day volume-weighted average price, subject to a $33.07 floor and $49.61 ceiling.
- IonQ says Elisity has more than 100 customer deployments and has reported year-over-year doubling of revenue and its customer base.
- The companies expect the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions.
IonQ said on Oct. 12, 2026, that it entered an agreement to acquire privately held cybersecurity company Elisity in an all-stock transaction with an announced maximum value of up to $1.3 billion. The IonQ announcement says the maximum includes up to $150 million in performance-based earnout consideration. SecurityWeek separately reported the deal headline and described Elisity's technology.
The announcement says the base share consideration will use IonQ's 20-trading-day volume-weighted average price, with a floor of $33.07 and a ceiling of $49.61 per share. The cited materials do not provide the number of IonQ shares that could be issued or specify whether the collar applies to the earnout as well as the base consideration. They also do not include an SEC filing, merger agreement or other transaction document independently verifying those terms.
Elisity's IdentityGraph combines information about identities, assets and risks to help set least-privilege access policies for users, devices, workloads and artificial intelligence agents, according to SecurityWeek. IonQ says it plans to add a cryptographic inventory, meaning a catalog of an organization's encryption assets and exposure to post-quantum risks.
IonQ says Elisity was founded in 2019 and has more than 100 customer deployments worldwide, including customers in the Fortune 500. IonQ separately says Elisity reported year-over-year doubling of revenue. It also says the company's customer base doubled year over year. IonQ further says Elisity has had zero churn among deployed customers. The cited materials do not independently audit those figures.
Elisity CEO James Winebrenner is expected to continue leading the business after closing. IonQ says the combined company will pursue post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution, a technology it identifies as part of its longer-term capabilities.
The companies expect the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions. The cited materials do not specify separate shareholder or board approval requirements.
By the numbers
- $1.3 billion - maximum announced transaction value
- $150 million - potential performance-based earnout consideration
- $33.07-$49.61 - announced share-price collar for the base share consideration
Yes, but: The cited materials do not disclose the potential number of IonQ shares, the upfront consideration, or whether the collar covers the earnout. SecurityWeek corroborates the deal announcement and technology description, but the available materials do not independently verify the detailed financial terms.
What's next: The companies expect the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions.