(Bloomberg) -- IonQ Inc. is in advanced talks to acquire ID Quantique, a company that describes itself as a specialist in quantum-safe network encryption, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The parties are discussing a transaction that values ID Quantique at about $250 million, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. A deal involving IonQ’s stock as payment could be announced as soon as this week, but discussions are ongoing and a transaction may fall through. 

A representative for College Park, Maryland-based IonQ declined to comment. A spokesperson for Geneva-based ID Quantique did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shares in IonQ, which went public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company in 2021, have risen more than 175% in the past 12 months amid ongoing interest in quantum computing. IonQ last month completed an acquisition of assets from quantum networking firm Qubitekk. 

ID Quantique, led by Chief Executive Officer Grégoire Ribordy, was founded in 2001 and its products are used by governments and enterprises in over 60 countries, according to its website. 

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, a research and development arm of the US Department of Defense, has been funding an effort known as the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, which says is dedicated to discovering whether an “industrially useful” quantum computer can be built faster than current expectations.

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