Crypta Labs
Crypta Labs Limited is a London-based quantum hardware company that designs and manufactures Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) devices and licenses its proprietary Quantum Optics Module (QOM) to security hardware manufacturers for integration into FPGA and MCU-based cryptographic products.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Crypta Labs does
Crypta Labs Limited is a London-based quantum hardware company founded in 2014 that designs, prototypes, and manufactures Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) products in the United Kingdom. Its core technology is a proprietary Quantum Optics Module (QOM) introduced in 2021, a discrete-component Dynamic Dual Shot-Noise Capture System (DDSCS) that exploits quantum shot noise in photons emitted by a controlled LED and detected by a packaged sensor, then conditioned via NIST 800-90B algorithms to deliver uniform random bits. The QOM is delivered to market through a tiered product family: the Cicada 0.5 USB QRNG (£200), the Firefly 20 PCIe QRNG (£250), the Dragonfly 300 PCIe QRNG (£350), a 1U rack-mountable dual QRNG data centre appliance (quote-based), a discounted QRNG Dev Bundle (£750) for universities and developers, and a portable software SDK (PYQCC and Cicada Python APIs) for embedded integration. The company also developed what it describes as the world's first space-compliant QRNG for UKRI and the UK Space Agency and completed a Ministry of Defence funded prototype.
The business operates a hybrid go-to-market. The primary commercial focus is an OEM/licensing model in which Crypta Labs licenses the QOM design and provides bespoke integration services to security hardware manufacturers embedding quantum entropy into FPGA- and MCU-based products such as HSMs, VPN gateways, firewalls, secure routers, and IoT devices. Embedded code is opened for OEM review under NDA, all hardware is UK-designed and UK-manufactured, and there is no proprietary closed silicon, which is positioned as a procurement advantage in defence and government supply chains. A secondary direct-to-consumer channel was added in 2026 with a public web shop selling individual units worldwide. The company is founder-led (CEO Jon Maliepaard, CSO/founder Dr Jose Luis Garcia Coello, CTO Oliver Maynard) with a core team of approximately 6 people plus a CCO and acting CFO, and has raised approximately $4.4M in disclosed equity and accelerator funding between 2016 and 2019 (Bloc Ventures, Innovate UK, Angels Den, Starburst Accelerator, Pitch@Palace). Customer logos span early-stage quantum-security companies (KETS Quantum Security, ExeQuantum, Quantropi, Arqit, Quantum Bridge), research institutions (University of Luxembourg SNT, i2CAT), one large multinational (Toshiba), and the UK Space Agency/UKRI.
Crypta Labs firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Crypta Labs
- Legal name
- Crypta Labs Limited
- Website
- https://cryptalabs.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Crypta Labs Limited is a London-based quantum hardware company that designs and manufactures Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) devices and licenses its proprietary Quantum Optics Module (QOM) to security hardware manufacturers for integration into FPGA and MCU-based cryptographic products.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Crypta Labs industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Quantum Cryptography Hardware
- NAICS
- Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing (334413), Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (3341), Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing (33441), Current-Carrying Wiring Device Manufacturing (335931)
- SIC
- Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674), Computer Communications Equipment (3576), Electronic Computers (3571)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Quantum Random Number Generators (QRNG) (HDAGAGAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Quantum Random Number Generation (QRNG) for Communications (HDAGAFAC)
Keywords
Where Crypta Labs is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Crypta Labs business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Hardware Sales (Online Storefront): Direct sale of QRNG devices (Cicada USB, Firefly PCIe, Dragonfly PCIe, 1U Rack Appliance, QRNG Dev Bundle) via cryptalabs.com web shop with fixed unit prices (£200-£750). Free shipping over £450 UK / £550 worldwide. 12-month warranty included.
- OEM Design Services and Licensing: OEM design and licensing model: Crypta Labs licenses its QOM design to hardware manufacturers, providing custom board design, schematic reference designs, and IP for direct integration. Embedded code is opened for review under NDA; manufacturer uses own supply chain.
- Custom Integration / Professional Services: Bespoke integration work: customizing bus, speed, size, shape of the QRNG module for OEM customer requirements. Includes NDA prototype delivery and engineering support for embedding QOM tech into customer board designs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Cicada 0.5 USB QRNG - entry-level USB stick device |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Firefly 20 PCIe QRNG - mid-tier PCIe adapter |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Dragonfly 300 PCIe QRNG - high-speed PCIe adapter |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | QRNG Dev Bundle - educational/research package |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Data Center 1U Rack-Mount Dual QRNG Appliance |
| Other | Multi-year contract | OEM Licensing and Custom Design |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels10 records
Crypta Labs product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Crypta Labs designs, manufactures and sells Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) hardware — USB sticks, PCIe cards and 1U rack-mount appliances — built around its proprietary Quantum Optics Module (QOM) and Dynamic Dual Shot-Noise Capture System. It also licenses the QOM to OEM security hardware manufacturers and delivers a paid QRNG OEM design service for custom integration into third-party products, complemented by developer SDKs and bundles.
Product overview
Crypta Labs (Crypta Labs Limited, established 2014, based in London, UK) is a single-vendor offering centered on a unified Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) hardware product family plus its underlying Quantum Optics Module (QOM) technology, complemented by an OEM Design Service and software APIs. The portfolio is structured as a platform-plus-modules architecture: the proprietary QOM (invented in 2021 as a first-of-its-kind discrete-component quantum optics module) forms the underlying entropy source engine, which is then delivered to customers in multiple form factors — the consumer/developer-facing Cicada 0.5 USB QRNG stick, the Firefly 20 PCIe QRNG card, and the higher-throughput Dragonfly 300 PCIe QRNG card — along with the 1U QRNG Rack Appliance (dual QRNG data centre appliance) for enterprise deployments and the QRNG Dev Bundle for education. The QRNG OEM Design Service and licensing model allow OEMs to embed the QOM directly into their FPGA- or MCU-based security appliances (HSMs, VPN gateways, firewalls, secure routers). Software access is provided through the PYQCC Python API (QRNG Command & Control SDK with capture control, auto-calibration health checks, and NIST 800-90B conditioning) and the Cicada Python API. Together these products and services position Crypta Labs as a provider of NIST 800-90B compliant, quantum-derived entropy for OEM integration into post-quantum cryptography pipelines.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Cicada QRNG: Cicada 0.5 USB QRNG hardware device — a 500Kb/s USB stick form-factor quantum random number generator (1950 post-processed random numbers/second).
- Firefly QRNG
- Dragonfly QRNG
- QRNG Rack Appliance
- QRNG Dev Bundle
- Quantum Optics Module (QOM)
Products and services
- Cicada 0.5 USB QRNG Entry-level desktop USB Quantum Random Number Generator delivering NIST 800-90B-compliant quantum entropy for individual developers, researchers and small-scale integrations via the portable SDK.
- Firefly 20 PCIe QRNG Mid-throughput PCIe Quantum Random Number Generator card for servers, HSM clusters and OEM security appliance integration, with portable SDK support for Linux and Windows.
- Dragonfly 300 PCIe QRNG High-throughput PCIe Quantum Random Number Generator for data centre and enterprise deployments requiring large volumes of NIST-compliant quantum entropy.
- QRNG Rack Appliance (1U Dual QRNG) 1U rack-mount appliance housing two QRNG modules for high-availability quantum-safe entropy generation in data centres, HSM clusters and regulated enterprise environments.
- QRNG Dev Bundle Bundled developer offering pairing a Cicada USB QRNG with the portable Python/C SDK and documentation, targeted at cryptography researchers, students and integrators prototyping post-quantum applications.
- Quantum Optics Module (QOM) Proprietary discrete-component Quantum Optics Module that generates photonic entropy via diffuser-based photon scattering; licensed to OEM security hardware manufacturers as the core building block of Crypta Labs' QRNG portfolio.
Quantifiable outcome
- Min entropy of 4.280344 out of 5 possible bits on 100MB raw data (NIST 800-90B non-IID, 5 bits per sample)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Crypta Labs
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Crypta Labs technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature5 records
Crypta Labs partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- wolfSSLcoreCrypta Labs integrated its QRNG with the wolfCrypt library from wolfSSL via the STM32CubeMX ecosystem to demonstrate direct quantum-entropy injection into PQC operations such as ML-KEM (Kyber) key generation. The work included a guest post on the wolfSSL blog documenting the integration (wc_KyberKey_MakeKeyWithRandom). The approach remains FIPS 140-3 compliant and certifiable while grounding seed entropy in quantum phenomena.
- Blueshift MemoryminorCrypta Labs has a cybersecurity collaboration with Blueshift Memory, a memory-architecture company, covered by Startups Magazine. Crypta Labs also contributed to an eeTimes article on novel memory architecture bolstering security in October 2023.
- UK Space Agency / UKRIcoreCrypta Labs developed the world's first space-compliant Quantum Random Number Generator for UKRI and the UK Space Agency, covered by journalism.co.uk. The collaboration positions Crypta Labs in the defence/space supply chain and supports space-grade QRNG certification.
- AQuRand project (Kent University and National Physics Laboratory)corePrevious generations of Crypta Labs Random Number Generators were independently tested by Kent University and the National Physics Laboratory under the AQuRand project, where they passed all NIST 800-22 randomness tests. The collaboration supports independent validation of QRNG entropy quality.
- University College London (UCL) and Oxford University / QinetiQ / Universidad Autonoma de MadridcoreCrypta Labs' CSO Dr Jose Luis Garcia Coello's quantum physics PhD research at UCL was developed in conjunction with Oxford University, QinetiQ and Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, focused on Quantum Information based on mesoscopic systems such as N@C60 Carbon NanoWires and self-assembled quantum dots. These research collaborations underpin Crypta Labs' QRNG IP.
- Bluzec (Dr Francisco Castro)minorDr Francisco Castro serves as Strategic Advisor to Crypta Labs and is co-founder of Bluzec, a Bay Area deep-tech advisory firm with operations in the US and Europe that supports Crypta Labs on business, technology and commercialization strategy. Castro previously led IP strategy at IonQ and practiced IP law at Cooley, DLA Piper, Holland & Hart, and Arent Fox.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Crypta Labs competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Quantropi: Canada-based quantum-safe cryptography company offering random number generation, key distribution and PQC products - overlapping with Crypta Labs as a quantum entropy and QKD-adjacent supplier (and listed as a Crypta Labs customer/partner).
- IDQ (ID Quantique) / SKY Quantum RNG: Represents ID Quantique's standalone USB/desktop QRNG appliance line - the consumer-grade analog of Crypta Labs' Cicada USB and Firefly/Dragonfly PCIe QRNG products, sold into the same developer and evaluator audience.
- ID Quantique: Swiss QRNG and quantum-safe networking specialist that sells hardware QRNG modules, OEM entropy sources and quantum key distribution systems to enterprise, telecom and government customers - the closest commercial peer to Crypta Labs in target customer, product category and use case.
- QNu Labs: India-based quantum-safe communications company offering QRNG hardware modules and QKD products to enterprise and defence customers - a directly comparable QRNG OEM with similar go-to-market into government and telecom buyers.
- QuantumCTek: China-based QRNG and QKD vendor producing discrete QRNG modules and OEM quantum random number sources for telecom, finance and government - directly comparable to Crypta Labs' OEM QOM business and one of the more capitalised competitors in the same product category.
- Quantum eMotion: Canadian quantum random number generator company focused on QRNG hardware and SDKs for gaming, security and IoT applications - comparable as a pure-play QRNG hardware/SDK vendor selling to OEM and developer audiences similar to Crypta Labs.
- QuintessenceLabs: Australian quantum-safe cybersecurity company selling a hardware QRNG appliance (qStream), qRand entropy modules and integration into existing key management stacks - competes with Crypta Labs' 1U QRNG Rack Appliance and OEM modules for similar enterprise and defence buyers.
- QuantumCTek / QuantumBlock (OEM module line): Represents QuantumCTek's OEM QRNG module and entropy source family - the most direct competitor to Crypta Labs' Quantum Optics Module (QOM) licensing and FPGA/MCU integration offering.
Broad incumbents
- Arqit Quantum Inc. UK/Nasdaq-listed quantum-safe encryption vendor selling software-based platform products and sourcing quantum entropy - listed as a Crypta Labs customer and a broader incumbent competitor in the quantum-safe communications market.
- Toshiba (Quantum Division): Large industrial conglomerate with a quantum key distribution and quantum cryptography business that both buys quantum random number components from suppliers like Crypta Labs and competes with integrated quantum-safe networking stacks for telecom operators.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Crypta Labs social profiles
Digital presenceCrypta Labs compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
Crypta Labs financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Crypta Labs leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Crypta Labs funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Crypta Labs M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Crypta Labs
What does Crypta Labs do?
Crypta Labs designs, manufactures and sells Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) hardware — USB sticks, PCIe cards and 1U rack-mount appliances — built around its proprietary Quantum Optics Module (QOM) and Dynamic Dual Shot-Noise Capture System. It also licenses the QOM to OEM security hardware manufacturers and delivers a paid QRNG OEM design service for custom integration into third-party products, complemented by developer SDKs and bundles.
Is Crypta Labs a public or private company?
Crypta Labs is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Crypta Labs founded?
Crypta Labs was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Crypta Labs based?
Crypta Labs is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Crypta Labs make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Hardware Sales (Online Storefront) is the primary driver. The others are OEM Design Services and Licensing and custom Integration / Professional Services.
Who are Crypta Labs's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Quantropi, IDQ (ID Quantique) / SKY Quantum RNG, ID Quantique, QNu Labs, QuantumCTek, Quantum eMotion, QuintessenceLabs and QuantumCTek / QuantumBlock (OEM module line). Broad incumbents are Arqit Quantum Inc. and Toshiba (Quantum Division).
Does Crypta Labs have an API?
Yes. Crypta Labs provides Python-based APIs for interfacing with their QRNG hardware devices. The PYQCC (QRNG Command & Control) API allows developers to drive photon emission, capture data, run auto-calibration health checks, and retrieve conditioned quantum random numbers from the hardware. The Cicada Python API enables programmatic access to the Cicada USB QRNG stick. A separate qrngappliancetool.py utility provides command-line and programmatic control over the 1U Rack Appliance dual QRNG. The APIs expose random number generation, health monitoring, and device configuration endpoints, primarily for developers integrating Crypta Labs QRNGs into their applications. Developer documentation is at cryptalabs.com/qrng-command-control-manual.
What industry is Crypta Labs in?
Crypta Labs's product category is Quantum Cryptography Hardware. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAGAGAB, Quantum Random Number Generators (QRNG), with a secondary code of HDAGAFAC, Quantum Random Number Generation (QRNG) for Communications. Its NAICS code is 334413 and its SIC code is 3674.