KETS Quantum Security

A Bristol-based start-up, founded in 2016, that builds tiny quantum chips to protect data in communications from future quantum-computer attacks.

About KETS Quantum Security

KETS Quantum Security builds chip-sized quantum technology for secure communications. Its work has two main strands. The first is quantum key distribution, or QKD, a way of sharing the secret keys used to lock and unlock messages by sending particles of light along a fibre. If anyone tries to listen in, the light is disturbed and the sender and receiver can tell. The second is a quantum random number generator, which uses the unpredictable behaviour of light to produce truly random numbers, something good encryption needs. KETS puts these ideas onto small photonic chips so they can be built into ordinary electronics and telecoms equipment rather than filling a whole lab.

The company was founded in 2016 by researchers from the University of Bristol, working in the university's Quantum Engineering Technology Labs. One source names the founders as Drs Philip Sibson, Jake Kennard and Chris Erven; another adds Dr Caroline Clark. Dr Erven is the chief executive. They had led the Quantum Communications Hub's world-first chip-to-chip QKD demonstration, and KETS was set up to turn that prototype into a product. Dr Erven has said the aim is to become "the digital security OS of the future", and the company says it wants to protect "the world's most valuable resource, information" from the threat of quantum computing.

KETS is headquartered in Bristol and is a member of SETsquared Bristol, the university-linked start-up community. It has also opened its first international office, in Paris, where it plans to supply systems to a quantum testbed with Orange and Thales. In the UK it has taken part in projects with Airbus, ID Quantique and the Universities of Oxford and Bristol on a drone-compatible quantum transmitter (Q-DOS Light), and with Airbus, the University of Strathclyde and the Satellite Applications Catapult on satellite QKD (ViSatQT). It was named the UK's Most Innovative Small Cyber Security Company of the Year in 2019 (company-reported).

The pages we read name only the founders, so we cannot describe the day-to-day culture or the current team size. What they do show is a small, research-rooted company that works closely with universities and large industrial partners. That usually means a mix of people: physicists and photonics engineers who design the chips, electronics and software engineers who build the test equipment, and business and project staff who work with customers and funders.

If you enjoy physics, maths, computer science or electronics, KETS is a good example of how those subjects turn into a real product. Quantum security is a young field, so the best preparation is a strong grounding in physics or engineering, plus curiosity about cybersecurity. The company's own website is the place to check what roles it has at the moment.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Photonic chips that share encryption keys using light and can be built into communications equipment.', 'title': 'Quantum key distribution chips'}
• {'desc': 'A patented generator that produces fast, unpredictable random numbers for encryption.', 'title': 'Quantum random number generation'}
• {'desc': 'Chip-based, quantum-safe kits and testbed work with telecoms and aerospace partners.', 'title': 'Development kits and trials'}

Key facts

• Founded 2016 at the University of Bristol; headquartered in Bristol with an office in Paris
• Founders include Chris Erven (CEO), Philip Sibson and Jake Kennard
• Took part in Q-DOS Light and ViSatQT with Airbus and UK universities
• Named UK Most Innovative Small Cyber Security Company of the Year 2019 (company-reported)

Website: www.kets-quantum.com