ISARA lands US$10 million in VC funding

Waterloo-based ISARA Corp., which specializes in securing the world’s data from the threat posed by quantum computers, Monday announced a US$10-million Series A financing round led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Shasta Ventures.

ISARA, which launched in 2015, received an initial capital injection of US$11.5 million from Quantum Valley Investments, founded by BlackBerry co-founder and CEO Mike Lazaridis. Quantum Valley funds early-stage companies working to develop quantum-based commercial applications.

“Shasta’s investment is another validation of Canada’s … growing role in creating the next wave of technology,” said Lazaridis. “The concentration of intellectual talent, academic support and state-of-the-art facilities available to innovative companies like ISARA is unmatched anywhere in the world. Quantum Valley Investments is delighted to work with Shasta as ISARA helps to secure communication and protect confidential data in the Quantum Age.”

The new money, ISARA said in a release, will allow the company to scale as it tackles the security threat posed by quantum computers; experts predict that a quantum computer will eventually be able to breach current encryption standards.

The company said additional investors will be announced in the near future as it “ramps up its capabilities through strategic initiatives with Cisco, DigiCert, Gemalto, Volkswagen AG and others.”

“Shasta’s investment recognizes the fundamental role security will play in the Quantum Age,” said ISARA CEO Scott Totzke.

“The global economy and our daily lives are built around a secure online ecosystem that will crumble in the face of a full-scale quantum computer. Ensuring that the many significant benefits of quantum computing can be realized requires a robust set of quantum-safe security and encryption practices that are practical, affordable and agile.”

Totzke and ISARA co-founder Mike Brown formerly led the development of security systems for BlackBerry.

“Quantum computing requires a wholesale, generational rethinking of how we secure the digital environment,” said Shasta Ventures Partner Nitin Chopra. “ISARA is the clear leader as the only company with commercial solutions that can be implemented today.”