EnSilica launches new accelerators, inks IP licence

(Sharecast News) - Application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) specialist chip manufacturer EnSilica announced the launch of a series of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) accelerators on Friday. The AIM-traded firm said the accelerators represented a significant advancement in cryptographic technology, with the first intellectual property (IP) licence being granted to an unnamed, "major" semiconductor supplier.

EnSilica said it was among a small group of companies offering licensable IP cores for advanced cryptographic accelerators.

The development would expand EnSilica's existing array of non-quantum resistant cryptography accelerators designed for integration into ASICs and various semiconductor devices.

It said PQC pertains to cryptographic algorithms capable of withstanding potential cyber-attacks from quantum computers.

Quantum computing continues to advance, and with artificial intelligence (AI) systems often relying on vast datasets, there was a threat of cyber-attacks compromising existing public key-based cryptography used in secure communications and financial transactions.

Last year, the US Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a draft standard for the first of such cryptographic algorithms.

The company said the urgency for widespread adoption of PQC arose from concerns that sensitive encrypted data already collected could become vulnerable once powerful quantum computers become available.

"EnSilica's commitment to technological innovation is reflected in our comprehensive range of cryptographic accelerators IP to address the next generation of cybersecurity threats," said chief executive officer Ian Lankshear.

"The commercial licensing agreement with this major semiconductor giant validates the intrinsic value of our intellectual property."

Lankshear said EnSilica licences its intellectual property to other semiconductor companies, and also leverages it in the development of custom ASICs which it supplies to clients.

"Having such IP is a key differentiator for EnSilica's ASIC business given the markets we address, as well as for bringing in high margin IP licensing revenue."

At 1507 GMT, shares in EnSilica were flat at 36.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.