Bengaluru-based QNu Labs will receive ₹150 crore from the Technology Development Board (TDB-DST) through an Optionally Convertible Debt agreement, a financing method rarely highlighted in tech funding. The project aims to establish an indigenous technology backbone for India’s Quantum Secure and Sensing Networks, built around four key areas: identity security, location integrity, network security and time integrity.
QNu Labs’ Four-Pillar Approach to Quantum-Secure Networks
This integrated approach moves beyond isolated security solutions, aiming to establish a unified foundation for sovereign security and sensing infrastructure. The company intends to develop quantum-secure physical unclonable functions and trusted platform modules under the identity security pillar, bolstering hardware-based device authentication and cryptographic security to minimize risks from compromised identities. The location integrity component of the program centers on technologies designed to ensure trusted navigation and detect manipulation of positioning systems.
QNu Labs plans to develop compact quantum magnetometers for electromagnetic tampering detection and GPS-denied navigation capabilities, with applications spanning defense and other high-reliability platforms. This focus on resilient positioning systems acknowledges the growing threat of spoofing and jamming, particularly in sensitive operational environments. The program’s network security pillar seeks to advance a quantum-secure communications ecosystem through both chip-based and satellite-based quantum key distribution, alongside supporting technologies like quantum-secure communication modules and encryption systems.
The objective is to create deployable capabilities for secure communications across terrestrial and long-distance networks, using the principles of quantum mechanics to guarantee confidentiality. Complementing these efforts, the fourth pillar focuses on indigenous high-precision timing infrastructure, including atomic clock technology and secure time synchronization using quantum key distribution-authenticated distribution. Reliable and tamper-resistant time synchronization is essential for a range of applications, from telecommunications and financial systems to critical infrastructure and defense.
“Quantum technologies will shape how nations protect their communications, devices, navigation and timing systems,” said the Founder of QNu Labs Private Limited. Developing prototypes into deployable systems requires significant investment and engineering refinement, and this program will involve further research, system integration and validation to achieve higher levels of readiness and deployment.
Shri Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary, TDB, explained that “Through the RDI Fund, TDB is supporting the development and maturation of advanced technologies that require sustained investment to progress from research and engineering to integrated, deployable systems.” The interconnectedness of these four pillars is central to QNu Labs’ strategy. The company intends to build trust into infrastructure from the hardware level upwards, extending the quantum security foundation into chip-based and satellite-based quantum key distribution, quantum sensing and artificial intelligence.
The program aims to deliver indigenous capabilities for India’s defense, telecom, financial and critical infrastructure sectors, while also strengthening the wider quantum ecosystem through collaboration with academia, startups and industry. “Quantum technologies are opening new possibilities for addressing complex challenges in cybersecurity, communications, navigation and critical infrastructure,” Pathak added. “Building indigenous capabilities across these interconnected domains is important for strengthening India’s technological self-reliance and long-term security.” The total cost of the project is ₹300 crore, signifying a substantial commitment to developing a sovereign quantum-security and sensing technology stack.
Quantum technologies are opening new possibilities for addressing complex challenges in cybersecurity, communications, navigation and critical infrastructure.
Shri Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary, TDB
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