EnSilica (ENSI) , a chip maker of mixed-signal ASICs, has released a range of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) accelerators, and granted IP licenses for the technology to a "major semiconductor supplier". EnSilica is one of the few companies offering advanced cryptographic accelerators as licensable IP cores.
"PQC" refers to cryptographic algorithms that can withstand cyber-attacks from quantum computers. Quantum computing poses a potential threat to AI-based systems that are normally backed by large datasets. Therefore, as quantum computing advances, there is a growing concern that cyber-attacks will break the current public key-based cryptography used in today's secure communications and financial transactions. The draft standard for the first of these cryptographic algorithms was published by the US Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) last year.
"The commercial licensing agreement with this major semiconductor giant validates the intrinsic value of our intellectual property. EnSilica not only licenses its IP to other semiconductor companies but also leverages it in the development of custom ASICs which we supply to our clients. Having such IP is a key differentiator for EnSilica's ASIC business given the markets we address, as well as for bringing in high margin IP licensing revenue." commented Ian Lankshear, CEO of EnSilica.
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EnSilica has come out with a new PQC product designed to safeguard businesses and governments' data from potential future attacks from quantum computers. Adoption of PQC technology has accelerated, fuelled by a fear that sensitive encrypted data harvested today might one day be compromised, once powerful quantum computers emerge. Quantum computers can break encryption using brute force methods orders of magnitude faster than classical computers, necessitating the change in cyber protection technology.
As well as PQC, the cybersecurity landscape is evolving, necessitating the redesign of many ASICs (hardware accelerators). This is due to the EU's recently enacted Network and Information Security (NIS2) directive, which encompasses a wider remit than the original directive released in 2016. It now includes the manufacturing sectors for critical products such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and chemicals, as well as other critical services such as energy and waste management, public electronic communication networks as well as space and aerospace.
As one of the few companies offering cryptographic accelerators as licensable IP, EnSilica is well-positioned to benefit as the industry readies for the eventual advent of quantum computing. As well as licensing its IP, EnSilica designs its own ASICs, which it also supplies to technology partners, yielding significant licensing revenues. While the value of today's contract with a "major semiconductor giant" was not disclosed, it should reflect positively on future revenue forecasts. Investors should therefore stay tuned and EnSilica for future announcements.