ID Quantique — vendor dossier

ID Quantique

QKDSources & detectorsEnabling supply chain
I

A commercial QKD vendor founded in 2001, among the earliest in the field, spun out of the University of Geneva by Nicolas Gisin, Grégoire Ribordy, Hugo Zbinden, and Olivier Guinnard. Sells turnkey fibre-QKD systems (Cerberis and Clavis XG, with the 4th-generation Clavis XG reaching ~14,000 AES-256 keys/hour at 24 dB loss over up to 150 km of SMF), single-photon detectors (ID230 InGaAs, ID281 SNSPD), and Quantis QRNG chips embedded in Samsung Galaxy "Quantum" phones. Founding member of ETSI ISG-QKD and supplier of the QKD hardware for Slovakia's EuroQCI rollout. Acquired by SK Telecom (majority stake, 2018) and then by IonQ (controlling stake, May 2025).

HQ
Geneva, Switzerland
Founded
2001
Status
acquired
Parent
ionq
Last verified
Wed May 13 2026 08:00:00 GMT+0800 (Singapore Standard Time)

Timeline

20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026202720282029today
2001
Founded by Nicolas Gisin, Grégoire Ribordy, Hugo Zbinden, Olivier Guinnard — spin-out of University of Geneva
2008
Founding member of ETSI ISG-QKD; leads work on QKD-014 / QKD-020 key-delivery and multi-vendor interfaces
2018-02
SK Telecom acquires majority stake (~$65M) in ID Quantique
2020-05
Quantis QRNG chip ships in Samsung Galaxy A Quantum — what the company and SK Telecom described as the first 5G phone with a quantum entropy source
2021-05
Cerberis XG launched — 4th-generation 1U QKD platform, up to 90 km
2024
ID281 Pro launched — rack-mount SNSPD system, up to 16 channels, <40 ps jitter
2025-02
IonQ signs definitive agreement to acquire IDQ; strategic partnership with SK Telecom announced
2025-05
IonQ closes acquisition of controlling stake in ID Quantique
2026
Continued EuroQCI rollouts and integration with IonQ's quantum-networking stack
shipped milestone public roadmap

Current flagship

Clavis XG — 4th-generation fibre QKD, long-reach production system

Milestones

  1. 2025-05
    IonQ closes acquisition of controlling stake in ID Quantique
    QKD press source ↗
  2. 2025-02
    IonQ signs definitive agreement to acquire IDQ; strategic partnership with SK Telecom announced
    QKD press source ↗
  3. 2024
    ID281 Pro launched — rack-mount SNSPD system, up to 16 channels, <40 ps jitter
    Sources & detectors press source ↗
  4. 2021-05
    Cerberis XG launched — 4th-generation 1U QKD platform, up to 90 km
    QKD press source ↗
  5. 2020-05
    Quantis QRNG chip ships in Samsung Galaxy A Quantum — what the company and SK Telecom described as the first 5G phone with a quantum entropy source
    Enabling supply chain press source ↗
  6. 2018-02
    SK Telecom acquires majority stake (~$65M) in ID Quantique
    QKD press source ↗
  7. 2008
    Founding member of ETSI ISG-QKD; leads work on QKD-014 / QKD-020 key-delivery and multi-vendor interfaces
    QKD press source ↗
  8. 2001
    Founded by Nicolas Gisin, Grégoire Ribordy, Hugo Zbinden, Olivier Guinnard — spin-out of University of Geneva
    QKD blog source ↗

Roadmap

  • 2026 Continued EuroQCI rollouts and integration with IonQ's quantum-networking stack source ↗

Capability details

QKD

Protocols
BB84, decoy-state, COW
Rate vs distance
~14,000 AES-256 keys/hour @ 24 dB loss, up to 150 km SMF (Clavis XG)
2 unverified fields
  • modalities.source-detect.detection_efficiency
  • modalities.source-detect.dark_count_hz

People

  • Grégoire Ribordy — CEO & Co-founder (since 2001) ↗
  • Grégoire Ribordy — Vice-Chairman of the Board (since 2025-05) ↗
  • Niccolo de Masi — Chairman of the Board (since 2025-05) ↗
  • Christophe Gaillard — Chief Operating Officer (since 2020) ↗
  • Marc Nikles — Chief Revenue Officer (since 2020) ↗
  • Benoît Lamamy — Chief Financial Officer (since 2020) ↗
  • Nicolas Gisin — Co-founder (since 2001) ↗

References