NTT Research

What NTT Research does

NTT Research, Inc. is a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT, TYO:9432), established in July 2019 in Silicon Valley to conduct basic research as a strategic R&D arm of the NTT Group. It operates four research units: the Physics and Informatics (PHI) Lab (optical/quantum computing, Coherent Ising Machines, TFLN photonic chips), the Cryptography and Information Security (CIS) Lab (attribute-based encryption, post-quantum cryptography), the Medical and Health Informatics (MEI) Lab (bio digital twins, cardiovascular health), and the Physics of AI (PAI) Group (AI through physics and neuroscience). The company monetizes primarily through technology licensing and royalties back into NTT Group, supplemented by an annual R&D allocation tied to roughly 30% of NTT's profits invested in R&D.

The product portfolio combines research-stage photonic and AI hardware (TFLN chips, CIM, programmable nonlinear photonic chips published in Nature, a hyperspectral compute-in-memory architecture targeting 100 PetaOPS at ~2 W/PetaOPS, and a low-power 4K AI chip for drones) with its first commercial product, SaltGrain, a zero-trust data security suite using attribute-based encryption designed for post-quantum deployment. In April 2026, NTT Research launched Scale Academy, a startup incubator that represents its first formal commercialization vehicle and signals a strategic pivot from pure basic research toward market-ready products targeting enterprise customers in finance, healthcare, and technology.

The go-to-market is hybrid: enterprise field sales via Scale Academy (SaltGrain to finance/healthcare/tech verticals), event-driven demand generation through the annual Upgrade summit in San Jose, and strategic partnerships (OptQC for 1 million qubits by 2030; NTT DATA/Kipu Quantum for Latin America commercialization). Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company holds no disclosed independent venture funding, relying on NTT Group balance sheet support and operating with 251–500 employees across Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, and Tokyo.

Name

NTT Research

Legal name

NTT Research, Inc.

Website

https://ntt-research.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

NTT Research is the Silicon Valley R&D subsidiary of NTT, conducting basic research in photonic/quantum computing, post-quantum cryptography, and medical informatics across four labs, and is now commercializing its first product, SaltGrain, a zero-trust ABE-based security suite, via the Scale Academy incubator targeting finance, healthcare, and technology enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cybersecurity & Photonic Computing Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Security Systems Services (except Locksmiths) (561621), Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Quantum Cryptography & Post-Quantum/Quantum-Safe Security Research (HDAGAMAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Quantum Tech Commercialization, IP, Tech Transfer & Venture Research (HDAGAMAN), Quantum-Safe Data-at-Rest Protection (Storage/Database/File Encryption) (HDAGAGAI), Quantum Communications, Networking & Quantum Internet Research (HDAGAMAH)

Keywords

• Post-quantum cryptography
• Photonic computing chips
• Attribute-based encryption
• Quantum optimization systems
• Data security software

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Research Services and Technology Licensing: NTT Research operates as the research division of NTT, conducting basic research and advancing technologies as a foundational model for developing high-impact innovation across NTT Group's global business. The company invests 30% of its profits in R&D annually.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

NTT Research conducts basic scientific research across quantum computing, photonics, cryptography, and medical informatics through four labs (PHI, CIS, MEI, PAI), and has begun commercializing breakthrough technologies via its Scale Academy incubator. Its first commercial product, SaltGrain, is a zero-trust data security suite built on attribute-based encryption designed for post-quantum, AI-era protection of enterprise data in finance, healthcare, and technology sectors.

Product overview

NTT Research operates as a basic research organization within NTT Group, conducting fundamental research across four primary labs: the Physics and Informatics (PHI) Lab focusing on optical computing and quantum information, the Cryptography and Information Security (CIS) Lab specializing in cryptographic innovations, the Medical and Health Informatics (MEI) Lab advancing bio digital twin research, and the Physics of Artificial Intelligence (PAI) Group studying AI through physics and neuroscience. The company's product portfolio centers on photonic computing technologies including Thin Film Lithium Niobate (TFLN) chips and the Coherent Ising Machine (CIM), alongside SaltGrain—a zero-trust data security platform built on attribute-based encryption. In 2026, NTT Research launched Scale Academy as its formal commercialization arm, with SaltGrain as the inaugural spinout product targeting post-quantum security for enterprises in finance, healthcare, and technology sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SaltGrain: A zero-trust data security suite built on attribute-based encryption (ABE) technology, designed for post-quantum deployment to address cybersecurity needs in the AI era.
• Scale Academy
• PHI Lab
• CIS Lab
• MEI Lab
• PAI Group

Products and services

• SaltGrain A zero-trust data security suite built on attribute-based encryption (ABE) that protects data throughout its lifecycle. Encryption travels with the data itself rather than protecting perimeters, enabling granular policy-based access control where users or AI systems can view only authorized portions of encrypted documents. The ABE core is engineered for post-quantum deployment, targeting enterprises in finance, healthcare, and technology sectors facing AI-era security threats.
• Scale Academy A startup incubator program launched by NTT Research to transform fundamental research from its labs into viable products and services through structured milestones and funding gates. Scale Academy represents the company's first formal commercialization arm, with SaltGrain as its inaugural spinout product, and is intended to spin out additional breakthrough technologies selected from the PHI, CIS, and MEI research pipelines.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100 PetaOPS with power efficiency near 2 W/PetaOPS
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• OptQCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2026Partnership with Japanese startup OptQC targeting 1 million qubits by 2030, announced at NTT Research's Upgrade 2026 event. This collaboration advances the development of scalable optical quantum computers.
• Cornell UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 October 2025Collaboration with Cornell University to develop the world's first programmable nonlinear photonics chip, with research published in Nature.
• Stanford UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 October 2025Collaboration with Stanford University alongside Cornell on the programmable nonlinear photonics chip research, with results published in Nature.
• Kipu QuantumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025Formalized alliance between NTT DATA and Germany-founded Kipu Quantum to commercialize quantum computing for Latin American industries including banking, insurance, logistics, and retail.
• Tohoku UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 July 2023Joint research agreement between NTT Research PHI Lab and Graduate School of Information Science at Tohoku University to accelerate development of quantum-enhanced Coherent Ising Machines, focusing on large-scale cyber CIM simulation platform using high-performance computing.
• Harvard UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Harvard University Center for Brain Science on Physics of Intelligence vision that led to the creation of the Physics of AI Group. Ongoing collaboration to address similarities between biological and artificial intelligences.
• Q-STAR Industry AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJapan's quantum industry alliance coordinating 112 corporate members including Toyota, NEC, Fujitsu, and Toshiba in the broader keiretsu-structured quantum industrialization programme as part of Japan's JPY 1.05 trillion national quantum investment strategy through 2030.
• University of California BerkeleyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration alongside Stanford University hosting the Bay Area Crypto Day to promote interest in cryptography research.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PsiQuantum: PsiQuantum builds fault-tolerant quantum computers using photonic technologies, directly overlapping with NTT Research's PHI Lab work on TFLN chips, Coherent Ising Machines, and the OptQC partnership targeting optical quantum computing at scale.
• Xanadu Quantum Technologies: Xanadu develops photonic quantum computers and quantum software (PennyLane), making it a direct competitor to NTT Research's photonic computing and CIM research programs aimed at optical quantum advantage.
• Lightmatter: Lightmatter builds photonic AI processors and interconnects that target energy-efficient compute, directly comparable to NTT Research's TFLN photonic chips and Hyperspectral Compute-in-Memory architecture targeting ~2 W/PetaOPS efficiency.
• IonQ: IonQ is a leading commercial quantum computing company pursuing trapped-ion and photonic networking approaches, competing for the same enterprise optimization and quantum-research customers NTT Research targets via its CIM and quantum communications programs.
• Rigetti Computing: Rigetti builds superconducting quantum computers and a quantum cloud platform, comparable to NTT Research as a public quantum hardware competitor pursuing enterprise and government quantum applications.

Broad incumbents

• IBM Quantum: IBM Quantum offers the most established enterprise quantum platform (Qiskit, IBM Quantum Network) and is the dominant incumbent NTT Research competes with for enterprise research partnerships and quantum talent.
• Google Quantum AI: Google Quantum AI is a well-funded incumbent pursuing superconducting quantum computing and quantum error correction, comparable to NTT Research as a deep-tech quantum research organization with commercialization pathways.
• Microsoft Azure Quantum: Microsoft Azure Quantum provides a broad quantum cloud platform and is investing in topological qubits, overlapping with NTT Research as a large incumbent pursuing enterprise quantum and post-quantum security offerings.

Emerging players

• PQShield: PQShield is a venture-backed post-quantum cryptography company providing PQC implementations for chips, networks, and software—directly comparable to NTT Research's SaltGrain post-quantum data security suite.
• ISARA Corporation: ISARA builds post-quantum security and cryptographic-agility solutions for enterprises and governments, an emerging specialist peer competing with NTT Research's CIS Lab and SaltGrain for PQC adoption in regulated industries.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/NTTResearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ntt-research
• Xx.com/nttresearch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NTT Research