Meet Two Engineers Building a 1,000-Km Network to Improve Our Cyber Security and Protect India’s Data
A bill is paid. A medical report is opened. A document is shared. A few taps on a phone are all it takes to pay a bill, transfer money , access a health report, or share an important document. It all feels effortless. Th
We trust that the invisible systems protecting our data will continue to do their job. Still, behind this everyday convenience lies a growing concern that has kept scientists and cybersecurity experts awake for years. The encryption that protects today’s digital world may not always be enough. As quantum computers move from research laboratories towards reality, they could one day crack many of the security systems the world currently depends upon.
Nearly a decade ago, when this conversation was still confined to academic circles, Sunil Gupta and Srinivasa Rao Aluri were already asking themselves a genuine question. If India was racing towards becoming one of the world’s largest digital economies, who was preparing to secure that future?
That belief led them to establish ‘QNu Labs’ in 2016. The company was incubated at IIT Madras in Tamil Nadu before moving its headquarters to Bengaluru, Karnataka, where it continues to build technologies designed to protect India’s digital future.
Around 10 years later, it has grown into what the founders describe as India’s only full-stack quantum cybersecurity company. This means it builds the hardware, software, and secure applications needed to protect communication systems across defence, banking, government, and critical infrastructure.
Looking back, Sunil, the co-founder and CEO of the organisation, says the idea was never about predicting the future. It was about preparing for it.
“When we began, quantum computing wasn’t something people discussed outside research circles, but one question kept coming back to us. If India’s digital economy is growing this fast, shouldn’t we start preparing for the risks that could come with it?” he tells The Better India.
Preparing before the threat arrived
In 2016, quantum computers were still largely confined to laboratories. For many people, the technology sounded like something from science fiction rather than an immediate concern. Friends, investors, and industry experts frequently questioned why a young Indian startup wanted to spend years solving a problem that sounded so far away.
The founders heard those doubts routinely.
“People told us we were working on tomorrow’s problem,” recalls Srinivasa. “We looked at it differently. If you wait until tomorrow arrives, you have already lost valuable time. Security has to be built before the threat becomes real.”
It was a philosophy that drove everything the company did.
Most cybersecurity companies were focused on identifying attacks faster or responding more efficiently once systems had already been compromised. The duo wanted to approach the problem from a completely different direction. Instead of improving the alarm system, they wanted to redesign the lock itself.
“We believed security needed an urgent shift from ‘early detection and faster response’ to proactive immunity,” says Sunil. “For us, the goal was not only to react better. It was to make attacks substantially harder in the first place.”
That decision meant that for years, there would be no quick payoff. The founders had to sit with the uncertainty, keep building in labs, and explain the same idea to people who still saw it as too far away.
But they believed that if the groundwork was done early, India would have a stronger chance of meeting the quantum era before it arrived at its doorstep.
The science behind safe communication
For many people, the word quantum immediately sounds scary. It brings to mind complicated equations, research laboratories, and concepts that appear impossible to understand. Yet the challenge QNu Labs is addressing can be explained through something surprisingly familiar.
Imagine sending a valuable document inside a locked box. Both the sender and the receiver have identical keys, and only those keys can open the lock. As long as no one else gains access to the key, the document remains secure.
That is basically how digital encryption works today. Every online payment, confidential email, or government record depends on secret digital keys that scramble information into unreadable code before it is transmitted across a network.
Today’s encryption depends on problems that normal computers find extremely hard to solve. Quantum computers could solve some of them much faster, which means the same protection may become weaker in the future.
QNu Labs’ platform tries to reduce that risk by using the laws of physics along with mathematics, making the security harder to break with computing power alone.
Its flagship technology, Armos, uses Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) to create encryption keys without ever sending those keys across the communication network. Think of two people somehow agreeing on the same secret password without ever saying it aloud, writing it down, or sending it to each other. Since the password never actually travels, there is nothing for anyone else to intercept.
Even more interestingly, the technology can immediately detect if somebody attempts to eavesdrop.
“People usually assume quantum technology is too complicated to understand, but we like to explain it through something familiar. Imagine sharing a secret without ever saying it aloud. That’s mainly what quantum key distribution allows us to do, and if someone tries to listen in, you know immediately,” says Srinivasa.
Another technology developed by the company is Tropos, a Quantum Random Number Generator, which creates genuinely unpredictable random numbers that are used to generate secure encryption keys. Regular computers follow a set pattern to create random numbers, which can sometimes be predicted. But quantum processes create randomness from nature itself, making the numbers much harder to guess.
“Think of it as the difference between a magician’s trick and a coin toss. A trick follows a pattern that can be figured out, but something created by nature can be completely unpredictable,” he continues.
The company has also built post-quantum cryptography, a newer form of encryption designed to keep data safe even when quantum computers become powerful enough to challenge today’s security systems.
Together, these innovations form QShield, an integrated platform that combines hardware, software, and secure applications into one ecosystem. Importantly, organisations do not need to rebuild their existing networks to use them.
“Most organisations have spent years building their digital infrastructure, and they don’t want to replace everything overnight. We aimed to create technology that works with existing systems while helping them prepare for the future,” adds Sunil.
That practical approach soon took QNu Labs out of the laboratory and into environments where secure communication is not just desirable but central.
When the technology moved beyond the lab
One of the company’s earliest breakthroughs came in the high-altitude region of Leh, where it successfully generated quantum-safe encryption keys across a 300-kilometre optical fibre network under demanding conditions. The achievement proved that the technology could perform reliably beyond carefully controlled research environments.
For the founders, it was more than a technical milestone. It was the first indication that years of research were beginning to translate into real-world impact.
It also caught the attention of one of the country’s most demanding customers.
On 14 August 2022, the Indian Army placed its first procurement order for the platform’s Quantum Key Distribution systems under the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) programme.
For the duo, it was a moment that affirmed a belief they had held since the company began, that technology conceived, designed and built in India could protect some of the country’s most sensitive communications.
“Receiving the army’s confidence was one of those moments that reminded us why we started,” says Sunil. “The achievement was a sign that homegrown innovation could meet the highest standards of security and safeguard some of the country’s most critical communications.”
The recognition did not stop there.
Within the following year, the Indian Navy placed a landmark order for 28 quantum encryption systems, making it one of the largest quantum security procurements in the country’s defence sector. It signalled that quantum-safe communication was no longer confined to research papers or pilot projects. It was beginning to find a place in India’s operational defence networks.
For a young company that had spent years refining its technology, the army and navy orders were important milestones. But for the founders, they were never the destination. They were proof that quantum security could work where the stakes were highest. The larger ambition had always been to build a security framework that could eventually protect every sector relying on digital communication, from financial institutions and public infrastructure to healthcare and telecommunications.
A 500-km trial took quantum security out of the lab
The opportunity to illustrate that vision came soon afterwards.
Working with the Indian Army’s Southern Command Signals, the organisation helped set up India’s first quantum secure communication channel across more than 500 kilometres of existing optical fibre in Rajasthan. The test ran on the army’s own communication backbone, with the fibre infrastructure provided by the Corps of Signals.
Instead of laying an entirely new network, QNu Labs used the system already in place. Through multiple communication points, including two trusted points that helped pass the keys safely, the company securely exchanged quantum encryption keys across the network.
Until then, many quantum communication experiments had remained inside laboratories or worked only across shorter fibre links. This test showed that India could begin preparing for the quantum era by strengthening the networks it had already spent decades building.
“Every milestone has taken years of testing, learning, and refining. Completing the 500-kilometre quantum secure connection was not about setting a record. It showed that this technology could move beyond research labs and work on the networks people rely on every day,” says Srinivasa.
The achievement also supported the vision of the National Quantum Mission, which aims to create indigenous quantum technologies across computing, sensing and secure communication. As India builds its quantum capabilities, the focus is now shifting from experiments in laboratories to finding ways these technologies can solve real-world challenges.
The momentum continued.
In April 2026, the startup completed another landmark achievement by establishing India’s first 1,000-kilometre Quantum Key Distribution network, the longest of its kind in the country. Running entirely over existing telecom fibre, the network maintained 99.3 percent uptime over 15 continuous days and was independently validated by government authorities along with VIAVI Solutions using its MAP-300 platform.
For the founders, it was the culmination of nearly a decade of patient work.
“When we started, quantum security sounded like a conversation for the future,” he says. “Today, we are seeing that future arrive much faster than many expected. We are glad we chose to prepare early rather than wait for the threat to become real.”
Beyond defence, towards everyday digital life
Although defence projects often attract the most attention, Sunil believes the real outcome of quantum security lies elsewhere.
Every day, millions of people transfer money through banking apps, make digital payments, share medical records, file taxes online, or access government services. Behind every one of those activities lies encryption that people trust without a second thought. The challenge is guaranteeing that this trust continues even in a future led by quantum computing.
One of the biggest concerns among cybersecurity experts today is a strategy known as ‘harvest now, decrypt later’. Instead of trying to crack encrypted information immediately, attackers can simply steal and store sensitive data today, waiting until quantum computers become powerful enough to unlock it years later.
Financial records, defence communications, confidential business information, or government files intercepted now could all become vulnerable in the future.
Preparing for that possibility is where QNu Labs sees its role.
Its integrated platform, QShield, is already being deployed across public sector organisations, banks, payment networks and operators of critical infrastructure. Rather than forcing organisations to discard years of investment in existing systems, the platform works alongside current infrastructure, combining Quantum Key Distribution, Quantum Random Number Generation and post-quantum cryptography to strengthen security in a practical and scalable way.
“Defence was never the final destination. The same technology that protects military communication can also secure banking systems, payment networks, hospitals, and public infrastructure. That is where its real value lies,” Sunil says.
This ability to adapt to different sectors has helped the company move from pilot projects into real-world deployments, slowly becoming part of India’s growing cybersecurity ecosystem.
Building products and patents in India
For the duo, building products was only one part of the work. They also wanted India to have the ability to create, control, and improve such technologies on its own.
For years, many advanced cybersecurity tools used to protect critical infrastructure have come from outside the country. These systems have played an important role, but when national security is involved, relying too heavily on foreign technology can become a concern. QNu Labs wanted to show that high-level quantum security could be designed, engineered, and manufactured in India.
That commitment can be seen in its growing intellectual property portfolio. Today, the company has 12 granted patents, 15 patents awaiting grant, and more than 30 additional patent applications, giving it a strong base in quantum security innovation. Technologies such as Armos, Tropos, and their quantum secure communication platforms have all been developed by Indian engineers.
“Building indigenous technology goes beyond replacing imports,” the co-founder says. “It gives us greater control over the systems that protect its most important information and creates capabilities that stay within the country.”
The founders also recognise that building an industry requires people as much as products.
Through QNu Academy, the company is helping train students, engineers, and researchers in quantum technologies, creating a talent pool for a field that is still in its early stages in India.
“Technology alone does not build an ecosystem. You need researchers, engineers, and young innovators who are excited to take it forward. That is why we felt it was important to invest in developing talent alongside building products,” says Srinivasa.
Apart from these efforts, they have continued to collaborate with government agencies, research institutions, and industry partners, contributing to the country’s broader ambition of becoming self-reliant in advanced technologies.
The invisible trust behind a digital nation
The strongest technology is often the one people never notice.
When someone pays for groceries using a QR code, checks their bank balance on a mobile phone or sends confidential information across a secure network, they are unlikely to think about encryption, quantum physics or cybersecurity. Nor should they have to.
Behind those everyday interactions lies a vast digital infrastructure that depends on trust. As that infrastructure grows, so too does the responsibility of protecting it against threats that may seem distant today and are still moving closer.
Nearly 10 years ago, Sunil and Srinivasa decided to prepare for that future before most people believed it had arrived. Since then, the company they built has gone from an idea incubated at IIT Madras to securing communications for the Indian Army and Navy, demonstrating quantum secure networks stretching over 1,000 kilometres, supporting banks and public institutions, and helping strengthen India’s indigenous quantum ecosystem.
It is about recognising that trust is the foundation of a digital nation and quietly working to guarantee that trust remains intact for generations to come.
As Sunil reflects, “The strongest security is the kind that works silently in the background. If people can make a payment, access a government service, or communicate securely without thinking about the systems protecting them, then we have done our job.”
Source: The Better India
