Complements Korea's Quantum Defense Strategy and fast-tracks commercialization of a next-generation quantum-secure secure-element chip (QCIM) for Defense, Critical Infrastructure, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Payments, Mobile Authentication, AI and Digital Assets.

Deal and scope: BTQ signed a USD 15 million development and joint investment agreement with ICTK to co-develop Quantum Compute in Memory (QCIM), a quantum-secure secure element chip. Two agreements cover joint design through certification and BTQ's equity investment, with ICTK providing in-kind cost sharing and preferential manufacturing capacity.

Product and performance: QCIM will integrate BTQ's CASH cryptographic acceleration and post-quantum cryptography (PQC) at the silicon layer to enable crypto-agile upgrades without changing customer workflows. Early targets include up to 5× Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) throughput versus leading secure hardware, ~1 million digital signatures per second, and