A roll of the Dice
How an innovative approach to IP is helping Oxford students commercialise next-gen encryption technology
Just how random, is random? Not completely, would be the answer – and that’s a problem.
The protection of personal information and login credentials relies on the random generation of numbers to encrypt sensitive data. The trouble is, the random number generators used today aren’t completely random, something sophisticated hackers are able to exploit.
So, how do you make something truly random, and how does this move from an academic’s breakthrough to an entrepreneurial spinout run by students?
Oxford University spinout, Quantum Dice, believes it has the answer to a question that has vexed the data encryption industry for decades.
The way internet and telecoms companies protect sensitive data and keep login credentials private relies on the generation of truly random numbers. Only the person at either end of the data transfer has access to the 'key', meaning any information intercepted during transit is meaningless without the code to unravel the message.
The trouble is, the random number generators used today are not completely random.
If a sophisticated hacker has enough time or can find access to the random number generator hardware, there is a chance the random numbers that are used as the encryption keys, can be replicated or even manipulated. This is why Quantum Dice is developing its innovative self-certifying Quantum Random Number Generating (QRNG) device that uses light to create completely unpredictable, unrepeatable encryption keys.
Its patented system works by shining a laser at a beam splitter. The photons can either go straight through or be bent at a right angle. When collected together, this creates a stream of numbers that is, by the laws of physics, completely random and so a third party, no matter how sophisticated, can never predict the output randomness.
The system's unique breakthrough is not just its use of light to create encryption keys but its ability to constantly prevent the random numbers being generated by the laser from being influenced by the 'noise' of surrounding electronic equipment. This assures users of the high quality of random numbers generated by Quantum Dice's device.
Students empowered to StEP up
It is not just the encryption technology that is unique with Quantum Dice. It is being commercialised through a novel approach the University of Oxford has been taking to spinouts since 2019.
While the intellectual property emanates from the University’s Department of Physics, but Quantum Dice is not being run by the academics behind the scientific breakthrough.
Instead, it has been set up and is being run by former Oxford University students from a variety of scientific disciplines. It is the result of the Student Entrepreneurs' Programme (StEP), through which the University provides access to its technology exchange partner, Oxford University Innovation (OUI), working alongside investors at Oxford Science Enterprises (OxSciences), and the Saïd Business School.
Interior of the Beecroft Building, part of Oxford's Department of Physics. Credit: Jack Hobhouse.
Interior of the Beecroft Building, part of Oxford's Department of Physics. Credit: Jack Hobhouse.
The idea is simple, according to Catherine Spence, Deputy Head of Licensing and Ventures in Physical Sciences at OUI. Academics may want to see their discoveries used to make an impact beyond the laboratory, but they do not always want to run the business. Many want to carry on their academic career.
Catherine Spence, Deputy Head of Licensing and Ventures in Physical Sciences, OUI
Catherine Spence, Deputy Head of Licensing and Ventures in Physical Sciences, OUI
At the same time, OUI noticed that many students want to launch businesses but do not always have a breakthrough idea to take to market. Putting the two together, StEP allows students to launch start-ups using the university’s intellectual property.
'The programme came from us asking what if the IP we get from the academics, who can't put the time in themselves to progress it, were put in the hands of our bright young students,' she says.
"We take them through a programme where we teach them things you need to know to launch a start-up, such as IP protection and how to do some basic market analysis to find out where your ideas might go. We spend a month working with several teams and then six present their ideas to OxSciences and some senior people in the University. The Quantum Dice team won, they were unbelievably good."
Oxford students empowered to run companies
Oxford students empowered to run companies
For Dr Zhanet Zaharieva, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Quantum Dice, StEP has proven a way to launch a business without already needing to be an expert in entrepreneurship.
Zhanet had just finished her doctorate in quantum nanomaterials in early 2019 and was working on patenting her PhD research and building her own company.
While researching schemes that teach Oxford students how to become business leaders, she came across the announcement that StEP was launching. She chose quantum encryption from the list of IP opportunities on offer and joined a team with of fellow students who shared the same interest. The core of that team is now leading Quantum Dice.
'I was finishing up my PhD and wanted to start a company but after ten years in academia I didn’t feel I had enough entrepreneurial knowledge of running a business, so StEP was the perfect opportunity,' she says.
"Many teams pitched at the end of the process and we won. That was fantastic because we won £25,000 to put towards developing a prototype and, just as crucially, we have been receiving ongoing support from OUI, which has been invaluable."
Since winning the prize, Quantum Dice went on to secure £2m in seed investment by the summer of 2021.
Half of this came from an Innovate UK grant and the other half through venture capital, most notably from IP Group, Elaia Partners and the UK Innovation and Sciences Seed fund managed by Midven.
Dr Mark Reilly, Managing Partner of Technology at IP Group, reveals the investment company has high hopes for Quantum Dice, which was one of three start-ups in which IP Group invested in 2021, through its twenty-year relationship with OUI.
'In 2021, three new companies were created, thanks in no small part to OUI’s open, tried and tested approach to finding the right investment partner and their diverse and experienced team.'
"One of these new companies, out of Oxford University's quantum optics lab, Quantum Dice, is already showing great promise in transforming cybersecurity through the introduction of its quantum random number generating (QRNG) chip which fully secures data as we enter the quantum era."
For Dr Zhanet Zaharieva, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Quantum Dice, StEP has proven a way to launch a business without already needing to be an expert in entrepreneurship.
Zhanet had just finished her doctorate in quantum nanomaterials in early 2019 and was working on patenting her PhD research and building her own company.
While researching schemes that teach Oxford students how to become business leaders, she came across the announcement that StEP was launching. She chose quantum encryption from the list of IP opportunities on offer and joined a team with of fellow students who shared the same interest. The core of that team is now leading Quantum Dice.
'I was finishing up my PhD and wanted to start a company but after ten years in academia I didn’t feel I had enough entrepreneurial knowledge of running a business, so StEP was the perfect opportunity,' she says.
"Many teams pitched at the end of the process and we won. That was fantastic because we won £25,000 to put towards developing a prototype and, just as crucially, we have been receiving ongoing support from OUI, which has been invaluable."
Since winning the prize, Quantum Dice went on to secure £2m in seed investment by the summer of 2021.
Half of this came from an Innovate UK grant and the other half through venture capital, most notably from IP Group, Elaia Partners and the UK Innovation and Sciences Seed fund managed by Midven.
Dr Mark Reilly, Managing Partner of Technology at IP Group, reveals the investment company has high hopes for Quantum Dice, which was one of three start-ups in which IP Group invested in 2021, through its twenty-year relationship with OUI.
'In 2021, three new companies were created, thanks in no small part to OUI’s open, tried and tested approach to finding the right investment partner and their diverse and experienced team.'
"One of these new companies, out of Oxford University's quantum optics lab, Quantum Dice, is already showing great promise in transforming cybersecurity through the introduction of its quantum random number generating (QRNG) chip which fully secures data as we enter the quantum era."
Saïd Business School entrepreneurial support
The co-founders share this admiration of OUI which has been essential for providing mentoring and network support to help the company attract investment. This work was assisted by support and networking opportunities through the Entrepreneurship Centre at the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School. Both an MBA student and an Executive MBA student helped the team develop a marketing strategy. This enabled Quantum Dice to show investors that it had assessed the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead, and had a plan to open its innovative encryption technology to the market.
The assistance was part of a programme, called Liber, which ran through the COVID-19 pandemic period. Maria Zubeldia, Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre, explains the temporary scheme was designed to allow its students to help University spinouts remotely at a time when lecture rooms were shut and businesses needed extra support.
'Quantum Dice joined us in the Spring of 2021 because they wanted to develop their minimal viable product within 24 months and so wanted support with their marketing strategy,' she recalls.
"They had a consulting team of an MBA and an Executive MBA who supported them on that challenge. They were helped to develop contacts in the satellite telecommunications, Internet of Things, and security industries. They were also looking towards a seed round and so realised they needed expert support with their marketing strategy."
'Quantum Dice also accessed training and masterclasses that the Entrepreneurship Centre delivered to a cohort of businesses, such as a marketing presentation delivered by the Chief of Possibilities at Universal Music Group. We also brought in entrepreneurs, including the founders of the app Shazam, for our companies to really understand the struggles of fellow entrepreneurs.'
Maria Zubeldia, Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre
Maria Zubeldia, Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre
Ramy Aboushelbaya, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder
Ramy Aboushelbaya, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder
Marko von der Leyen, Chief Technical Officer and Co-Founder
Marko von der Leyen, Chief Technical Officer and Co-Founder
George Dunlop, Director of Partnerships and Co-Founder
George Dunlop, Director of Partnerships and Co-Founder
Saïd Business School entrepreneurial support
The co-founders share this admiration of OUI which has been essential for providing mentoring and network support to help the company attract investment. This work was assisted by support and networking opportunities through the Entrepreneurship Centre at the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School.
Ramy Aboushelbaya, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder
Ramy Aboushelbaya, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder
Both an MBA student and an Executive MBA student helped the team develop a marketing strategy. This enabled Quantum Dice to show investors that it had assessed the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead, and had a plan to open its innovative encryption technology to the market.
Marko von der Leyen, Chief Technical Officer and Co-Founder
Marko von der Leyen, Chief Technical Officer and Co-Founder
The assistance was part of a programme, called Liber, which ran through the COVID-19 pandemic period. Maria Zubeldia, Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre, explains the temporary scheme was designed to allow its students to help University spinouts remotely at a time when lecture rooms were shut and businesses needed extra support.
George Dunlop, Director of Partnerships and Co-Founder
George Dunlop, Director of Partnerships and Co-Founder
'Quantum Dice joined us in the Spring of 2021 because they wanted to develop their minimal viable product within 24 months and so wanted support with their marketing strategy,' she recalls.
"They had a consulting team of an MBA and an Executive MBA who supported them on that challenge. They were helped to develop contacts in the satellite telecommunications, Internet of Things, and security industries. They were also looking towards a seed round and so realised they needed expert support with their marketing strategy."
Maria Zubeldia, Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre
Maria Zubeldia, Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre
Quantum Dice also accessed training and masterclasses that the Entrepreneurship Centre delivered to a cohort of businesses, such as a marketing presentation delivered by the Chief of Possibilities at Universal Music Group. We also brought in entrepreneurs, including the founders of the app Shazam, for our companies to really understand the struggles of fellow entrepreneurs.'
Making entrepreneurship accessible
Quantum Dice's Business Development Director and Co-Founder, Wenmiao Yu, credits the 'very generous' mentoring help from OUI and the Saïd Business School's MBA students as being invaluable, not only in helping with strategy but also providing connections.
This led to the team being introduced to the Quantum Technology Enterprise Centre in Bristol. It is the UK's only quantum start-up incubator which supported Quantum Dice by awarding two of its co-founders a salary for a year as well as a £25,000 grant. This was used to buy materials and build an early prototype of the company's QRNG device as well as to start the R&D work on the first commercial device.
The support the business has received has enabled it to go from winning the StEP pitching competition in the summer of 2019 to securing grants to build an early-stage prototype while planning a seed financing round. This will enable Quantum Dice to build a market-ready prototype and demonstrate it to potential customers with the aid of connections made through Oxford University's innovation ecosystem.
'The connections and the networks that Oxford University and OUI offer are great,' says Yu.
"There's a lot of support for students in Oxford which we tapped into at different stages of Quantum Dice's development. I studied at the University between 2015 to 2019 and noticed that entrepreneurship was being made even more accessible to undergraduate students."
However, while it's very useful to have a course in entrepreneurship and attend lectures, the only way to become an entrepreneur is to start a company yourself, and that is exactly what StEP allowed us to do.'
Looking to the future, Dr Zhanet Zaharieva believes the company is now in the perfect position to keep tapping into those networks to find further partners as Quantum Dice moves closer to a market-ready prototype.
"We're in a perfect space where we can get support, resources and be inspired by so many other people. So, we're really happy that we're part of the Oxford tech ecosystem."
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