BTQ and ICTK Sign USD 15M Quantum-Secure Chip Development and Joint Investment Agreement to Advance Global Quantum-Safe Hardware

Executive Summary

• BTQ Technologies Corp. entered a USD 15 million development and equity investment agreement with South Korean secure‑element leader ICTK to co‑develop the Quantum Compute in Memory (QCIM) quantum‑secure chip.
• The partnership combines BTQ’s CASH cryptographic acceleration and post‑quantum algorithms with ICTK’s design, manufacturing capacity, and in‑kind cost sharing, targeting mass production for defense, IoT, payments, AI and digital‑asset applications.
• Early performance targets for QCIM include up to 5× AES throughput versus leading secure hardware, ~1 million digital signatures per second, and <1 µJ per cryptographic operation.

Key Details

• Agreement Scope: Two separate contracts – a Development Agreement (joint design, validation, tape‑out, certification, productization) and an Investment Agreement (BTQ’s direct equity investment in ICTK plus ICTK’s in‑kind contributions).
• Financial Commitment: USD 15 million total from BTQ; portion allocated to equity purchase of ICTK shares, remainder earmarked for joint R&D and cost‑sharing.
• Technical Highlights of QCIM:
• Integration of BTQ’s CASH cryptographic accelerator at silicon level.
• Post‑quantum cryptography (PQC) embedded for crypto‑agile upgrades without workflow changes.
• Targeted performance: ≥5× AES throughput, ~1 M signatures/sec, <1 µJ per operation.
• Manufacturing & Scale: ICTK will provide preferential manufacturing capacity and in‑kind resources to accelerate tape‑out and volume production; both parties will pursue mass‑production, testing, and certification pathways.
• Standardization Efforts: Joint engagement with international bodies (ITU, ISO) for rapid certification and alignment with emerging quantum‑secure standards.
• Commercialisation Plan: Leverage ICTK’s established customer base in Korean telecom and financial sectors; early engagements underway with key customers evaluating QCIM for secure wallets, mobile authentication, IoT endpoints, payment gateways, and defense systems. Global rollout planned following Korea’s Quantum Defense Strategy.
• Strategic Rationale: Aligns with Korea’s national quantum‑defense roadmap and BTQ’s strategy to expand its Quantum‑secure Infrastructure Stack into regulated finance and high‑assurance communications markets.

Notable Quotes

• “This agreement puts quantum‑safe security at the center of the global silicon ecosystem,” – Olivier Roussy Newton, CEO & Chairman, BTQ Technologies.
• “By teaming with BTQ, we will integrate post‑quantum security natively into our next‑gen SE platform…”, – Jungwon Lee, CEO, ICTK.