SEALSQ (NASDAQ:LAES) executives used the company’s fiscal 2025 earnings call to outline what CEO Carlos Moreira described as a “defining year,” highlighted by a commercial launch of what the company calls its first post-quantum secure semiconductor, expanded partnerships tied to U.S. defense and sovereignty requirements, and a sharp increase in cash following multiple capital raises.
Post-quantum product push and pipeline growth
Moreira said the company’s central thesis is that “the quantum threat to encryption is real, it is accelerating,” and that “hardware-rooted post-quantum security is the only durable answer.” He pointed to the Q4 commercial launch of the “Quantum Shield QS7001,” which he called “the world’s first post-quantum semiconductor,” embedding NIST-standardized post-quantum cryptography algorithms including ML-KEM and ML-DSA directly in hardware.
CFO John O’Hara said SEALSQ recognized “some small revenues relating to sampling of the QS7001 quantum-resistant chip as clients commenced their first testing,” and added that the company expects “first production revenues from the QS7001 in the second half of 2026.” O’Hara also said the estimated combined pipeline for the QS7001 and QVault TPM stood at $60 million as of Dec. 31, 2025 and “as of today,” spanning about 115 potential customers, while cautioning it is a management estimate “subject to conversion risk, customer validation, timelines, and the certification process.”
Certification and integration timelines framed as key gating items
Moreira said customer conversion to revenue is being shaped by two gating factors: completion of certifications and standard semiconductor integration cycles. He stated that product variants (QS7001 V1, QS7001 V2, QVault TPM 183, and QVault TPM 185) are “on track for CC EAL5+ FIPS 140 level 3 and TCG certification through Q4 2026.” He added that the laboratory had confirmed the Common Criteria evaluation work related to EAL5+—including fault injection and side-channel attacks—“passed its March certification as anticipated.”
Moreira also said the industry’s design-in to production path “usually spans 6-18 months,” but SEALSQ is aiming to shorten timelines through co-development partnerships and closer customer collaboration.
Regulatory tailwinds and “Made in U.S.” strategy
Management repeatedly cited regulatory deadlines as increasing urgency. Moreira pointed to the U.S. NSA’s CNSA 2.0 and the European Union’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) as factors influencing procurement decisions. He said the EU CRA requires security lifecycle documentation by September 2026 and warned of potential fines “up to $50 million or 2.5% of the global turnover” for non-compliance. In the U.S., he said CNSA 2.0 “requires traditional networking equipment to prefer post-quantum algorithms by 2026,” accelerating replacement cycles for some infrastructure and embedded systems.
Moreira said SEALSQ launched a “sovereign U.S.-based post-quantum root of trust” in November 2025 as part of its “Made in U.S.” strategy. He described the initiative as enabling the trust chain—from silicon design to cryptographic provisioning—to be executed in the U.S. under high certification and control. The company engaged Trusted Semiconductor Solutions (TSS) as its U.S. manufacturing and distribution partner, and said it plans to establish a U.S.-based secure personalization hub in 2026.
In the Q&A session, Moreira said the company shifted from a slower, greenfield approach for personalization centers to partnering with organizations that already have “legacy infrastructure operational,” which he said could reduce time-to-market by about three years and potentially make a center operational in “around 6 months to 1 year.” He also said SEALSQ expects to announce the location of a U.S. effort “before the end of June,” and added, “We believe that by the end of this year, we should be able to have something very concrete in this area.”
Partnerships, acquisitions, and quantum investment strategy
Moreira highlighted partnerships including Lattice Semiconductor, which he said supports integration of low-power FPGA technologies for defense, IoT, and AI applications, and Pyrodrone, which he said extends root-of-trust capabilities into autonomous and defense-grade UAV systems. He also said TSS, described as a Category 1A trusted accredited company, announced a strategic partnership to co-develop “made in U.S. PQC-enabled semiconductor” solutions aimed at high levels of hardware certification required by U.S. defense and government agencies.
On M&A, Moreira said SEALSQ acquired IC’ALPS, an ASIC design specialist based in Grenoble and Toulouse, adding about 100 engineers and bringing the workforce to about 300 people. He said the acquisition supports development of a “QASIC,” a purpose-built post-quantum cryptographic ASIC. Moreira also cited ASIC revenue growth from $1.4 million in Q3 to $2.2 million in Q4 as evidence of the acquisition’s value.
Moreira said SEALSQ signed a letter of intent “last month” to acquire 100% of Miraex, a Swiss developer of photonics-based quantum interconnect solutions, which he said would be a strategic asset in completing the company’s “quantum vertical stack” if completed.
Separately, management discussed a quantum-focused investment program. Moreira said the company’s “quantum fund” launched in 2025 with a $20 million allocation and has grown to $200 million, with about $30 million deployed across multiple investments including IC’ALPS, EeroQ, WISeSat, Quantix Edge Security, the Wecan Group, and others. O’Hara said the quantum fund has a $200 million allocation and “we have spent just over $30 million to date.”
Fiscal 2025 financial results and 2026 outlook
O’Hara reported fiscal 2025 revenue of $18.3 million, up 66% from $11 million in 2024, driven by semiconductor segment recovery and the addition of the ASIC segment following the IC’ALPS acquisition. Semiconductor revenue rose to $14.7 million from $11 million, while ASIC contributed $3.6 million for five months post-acquisition.
He cited strength in the SCR200 smart card reader line, which delivered 51% year-over-year growth, and said VaultIC 405 and VaultIC 408 secure element demand increased in smart metering and secure communications. Trust services grew by “almost 600% year-on-year,” though from a small base and representing about 2% of revenue.
Gross profit rose to $8.6 million from $3.7 million, with gross margin expanding to 47% from 34%. O’Hara attributed the improvement largely to the ASIC segment’s 88% gross margin, and said the semiconductor segment gross margin recovered to 37% as shipments resumed after customers drew down inventory.
Operating expenses increased to $48.4 million from $20.9 million. O’Hara said the largest factor was a non-cash stock-based compensation charge of $11.2 million, which he described as a one-time accounting charge tied to equity awards. He also cited consolidation of IC’ALPS expenses, the build-out of a standalone management team previously provided by parent WISeKey, and continued R&D and sales and marketing investment. Net loss widened to $34.2 million from $21.2 million, while non-operating income of $8.9 million included $6.1 million of interest income on cash balances.
SEALSQ ended 2025 with $417.7 million in cash and cash equivalents and $10 million of short-term investments, versus $84.6 million at year-end 2024. O’Hara said that since November 2024 through the call date, the company raised over $575 million in cash through registered direct offerings, warrant exercises, and an at-the-market facility. Total debt was $1.7 million, related to French government-supported loans acquired with IC’ALPS.
Looking ahead, O’Hara said SEALSQ expects 2026 to be “a year of acceleration,” supported by a full year of IC’ALPS revenue and anticipated production revenues from the QS7001 and QVault TPM in the second half. He also said the company expects revenue to grow “between 50% and 100%” in 2026, and that Q1 is expected to more than double year-over-year. Moreira added that key 2026 milestones include “full-scale commercial deployment” of the QVault TPM and an expected custom post-quantum ASIC engagement with contractualization in the second half.
About SEALSQ (NASDAQ:LAES)
SEALSQ Corp, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets semiconductor chips in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It offers semiconductors, such as VaultIC secure elements, secure arm platform, and smart card reader chips; identity provisioning services, such as IoT device provisioning and chip provisioning; and managed PKI for IoT solutions and trust services. The company provides device-to-cloud authentication, device attestation for matter, GSMA root certificate, device-to-device authentication, data protection, anti-counterfeiting and brand protection, security access, device ID provisioning, identity lifecycle management, and satellite IoT connectivity solutions.
