CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Fortanix vs SandboxAQ

Fortanix sells the Fortanix Data and AI Security Platform, which protects data, AI models, keys and applications while they are in use, and is built on Confidential Computing. SandboxAQ is a science-first technology company that connects AI and Quantum techniques across pharma, energy, defense, and other markets. CISO Tribune files both under Encryption, tokenization and key management and Post-quantum cryptography. This page sets the two records side by side: what each sells, where it is based, who owns and funds it, the customers it names and its recent news, each fact numbered to its source.

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  • Fortanix
  • SandboxAQ
Fortanix vs SandboxAQ: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
FortanixFortanix sells the Fortanix Data and AI Security Platform, which protects data, AI models, keys and applications while they are in use, and is built on Confidential Computing.fortanix.comSandboxAQSandboxAQ is a science-first technology company that connects AI and Quantum techniques across pharma, energy, defense, and other markets.sandboxaq.com
What it sells
  • DSM SaaS[5]Provides key management and cryptography service across public, private, hybrid or multicloud environments.
  • Runtime Encryption[3][4]Protects applications and data in use inside a trusted execution environment.
  • Key Insight[6]A key management and inventory tool for multicloud and on-premises environments.
  • AQtive Guard[1][5]AQtive Guard gives security teams insight into cryptographic assets and NHIs, then automates remediation.
  • Sandwich[7]Sandwich is an open source, unified API for cryptographic libraries, built for developers.
  • Large Quantitative Models[4][5][11]SandboxAQ offers three ways to access and deploy its LQMs.
  • AQCat Adsorption Spin[8]AQCat Adsorption Spin predicts spin-polarized adsorption energies and converged geometries on catalytic surfaces.
  • AQPotency[10]AQPotency is a Large Quantitative Model for potency prediction and virtual screening.
  • AQBioSim[5]AQBioSim enables biopharma teams to model interactions, predict outcomes, and optimize drug candidates in silico.
  • CardiAQ[11]CardiAQ combines advanced magnetic sensing, AI-powered Large Quantitative Models (LQMs), and electromagnetic interference rejection.
Categories
Headquarters
Santa Clara, United States[2]Palo Alto, United States[3]
Founded
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Ownership and funding
Not stated on its pagesPrivately held[2][5][6]
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
  • October 19, 2026Fortanix announced support for CNCF Confidential Containers in Fortanix Confidential AI, letting organizations run AI workloads on Kubernetes inside hardware-based trusted execution environments.[11]
Not stated on its pages
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
From its own pages, Fortanix sells mainly to organizations with sensitive workloads that run in untrusted environments such as the public cloud and remote clouds. Fortanix says it serves financial organizations and their ICT providers. Fortanix says it gives healthcare organizations the ability to protect e-PHI and the intellectual property in AI algorithms even on untrusted infrastructure. Fortanix says customers can deploy as SaaS, on-premises, or air-gapped, and that it supports regulated industries. Fortanix walks through real-world use cases in fintech, retail and transportation.From its own pages, SandboxAQ sells to organizations across pharma, energy, defense, and other markets. AQtive Guard is aimed at security teams working with cryptographic assets and NHIs. Sandwich is aimed at developers, as an open source API for cryptographic libraries. AQBioSim is aimed at biopharma teams that model interactions and optimize drug candidates. SandboxAQ provides pay-as-you-go access options for individuals and enterprises.
Last verified
September 27, 2026November 2, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Fortanix and SandboxAQ are both filed under Encryption, tokenization and key management and Post-quantum cryptography.
  • Both are headquartered in the United States.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Fortanix's primary category is Encryption, tokenization and key management; SandboxAQ's is Post-quantum cryptography.
  • SandboxAQ is also filed under Machine identity and PKI.
  • Fortanix lists DSM SaaS, Runtime Encryption and Key Insight. SandboxAQ lists AQtive Guard, Sandwich, Large Quantitative Models, AQCat Adsorption Spin, AQPotency and 2 more.
  • Fortanix is headquartered in Santa Clara, United States. SandboxAQ is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States.
  • SandboxAQ is privately held.

What it sells: Fortanix

What DSM SaaS does[5]
Provides secure key management and cryptography service across public, private, hybrid or multicloud environments. Simplifies provisioning and control of encryption keys.
What Runtime Encryption does[3][4]
Includes an EnclaveOS that transparently protects applications without requiring modifications. Protects containerized applications during runtime from host-level attacks.
What Key Insight does[6]
A key management and inventory tool that provides visibility and simplifies security controls across multicloud and on-premises environments. Fortanix proposes it to address complex encryption and key management challenges.

What it sells: SandboxAQ

What AQtive Guard does[1][5]
AQtive Guard gives security teams insight into cryptographic assets and NHIs, then automates remediation. AQtive Guard discovers and monitors cryptographic assets and NHIs across hybrid environments. AQtive Guard automates lifecycle management including credential rotation and certificate renewal.
What Sandwich does[7]
Sandwich is an open source, unified API for cryptographic libraries, built for developers. Sandwich supports the languages C++, Rust, Python, and Go and the cryptographic libraries OpenSSL, BoringSSL, and libOQS, to enable post-quantum as well as classical cryptography. Sandwich composes the chosen protocol and implementation into a Sandwich object, such as a secure tunnel. Sandwich gives developers the ability to change configurations without having to re-compile their code.
What Large Quantitative Models does[4][5][11]
SandboxAQ offers three ways to access and deploy its LQMs. One way connects SandboxAQ's LQMs to an existing chat LLM or cloud environment via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Customers can deploy SandboxAQ LQMs within their own operational environment and fine-tune models on their proprietary data. SandboxAQ provides pay-as-you-go access options for individuals and enterprises.
What AQCat Adsorption Spin does[8]
AQCat Adsorption Spin predicts spin-polarized adsorption energies and converged geometries on catalytic surfaces. AQCat Adsorption Spin is available via LLM integration and can be accessed via any MCP client.
What CardiAQ does[11]
CardiAQ combines advanced magnetic sensing, AI-powered Large Quantitative Models (LQMs), and electromagnetic interference rejection. CardiAQ is an investigational device.

Questions about Fortanix and SandboxAQ

What do Fortanix and SandboxAQ sell?
Fortanix sells DSM SaaS, Runtime Encryption and Key Insight. SandboxAQ sells AQtive Guard, Sandwich, Large Quantitative Models, AQCat Adsorption Spin, AQPotency and 2 more.
Are Fortanix and SandboxAQ in the same category?
They share Encryption, tokenization and key management and Post-quantum cryptography. Fortanix's primary category is Encryption, tokenization and key management and SandboxAQ's is Post-quantum cryptography.
Where are Fortanix and SandboxAQ headquartered?
Fortanix is headquartered in Santa Clara, United States. SandboxAQ is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States.
Who owns Fortanix and SandboxAQ?
SandboxAQ is privately held.
Who are Fortanix and SandboxAQ sold to?
From its own pages, Fortanix sells mainly to organizations with sensitive workloads that run in untrusted environments such as the public cloud and remote clouds. From its own pages, SandboxAQ sells to organizations across pharma, energy, defense, and other markets.
What have Fortanix and SandboxAQ announced recently?
October 19, 2026: Fortanix announced support for CNCF Confidential Containers in Fortanix Confidential AI, letting organizations run AI workloads on Kubernetes inside hardware-based trusted execution environments.

About Fortanix

Fortanix sells the Fortanix Data and AI Security Platform, which protects data, AI models, keys and applications while they are in use, and is built on Confidential Computing. Fortanix describes the problem this way: data, AI models and applications must be decrypted in memory to run, which leaves sensitive information and proprietary IP open to admins, operators and compromised hosts. Fortanix says it pioneered Confidential Computing in 2016.[3]

Fortanix says its unified platform covers protecting data and AI in use and preparing for quantum threats. Fortanix says it brings Key Management, Confidential AI and Post-Quantum Readiness together in one platform. Fortanix describes Confidential Computing as running data and applications in secure enclaves that isolate the data and code to prevent unauthorized access, even when the compute infrastructure is compromised. Fortanix says customers can keep data and keys under their own jurisdiction in any cloud and hold their own keys.[1][3]

Fortanix Runtime Encryption uses Intel SGX to enable general purpose computation on encrypted data without ever exposing plaintext application code or data. Fortanix says Runtime Encryption includes an EnclaveOS that transparently protects applications without requiring modifications. Fortanix lists databases, web servers, build servers, directory servers and key management among the applications available protected out of the box. Fortanix Runtime Encryption protects containerized applications during runtime from host-level attacks. Fortanix Runtime Encryption provides a security framework to ensure that sensitive data remains protected even when in use. Fortanix says Runtime Encryption allows organizations with sensitive workloads to operate in untrusted environments such as the public cloud and remote clouds.[4]

On key management, Fortanix says encryption keys can be stored in a natively integrated FIPS 140-2 level 3 certified HSM, available on-premises or SaaS. Fortanix says DSM SaaS provides secure key management and cryptography service across public, private, hybrid or multicloud environments. Fortanix says it can encrypt data across databases, virtual machines, filesystems, and multi-cloud. Fortanix offers data tokenization, which replaces sensitive data to prevent data exposure. Fortanix proposes Key Insight as a key management and inventory tool that provides visibility and simplifies security controls across multicloud and on-premises environments.[5][6]

Fortanix addresses quantum risk by helping customers find vulnerable cryptography, prioritize the risk, and migrate to NIST post-quantum algorithms with crypto agility built in. Fortanix says this is meant to stay ahead of harvest-now, decrypt-later attacks that target the data and AI customers protect today. Fortanix describes an approach to HSM modernization that removes legacy HSMs from service as they reach the end of their useful life.[3][7]

Fortanix says customers can deploy as SaaS, on-premises, or air-gapped. Fortanix says its platform helps customers meet GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS and DORA, with FIPS-validated key protection, centralized audit trails, and cryptographic attestation. Fortanix says its unified platform enables financial organizations and their ICT providers to identify at-risk services, prioritize remediation efforts, and safeguard sensitive data across all layers and systems. Fortanix says that, as data flows between different clouds and datacenters, it is critical to apply zero trust security at the data layer by using encryption. Fortanix describes how to implement the data pillar recommendations of the Zero Trust Maturity Model from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).[3][5][8]

A healthcare example Fortanix describes is BeeKeeperAI, which was created at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Center for Digital Health Innovation (CDHI), and accelerates the development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in healthcare. Fortanix says its Confidential Computing technology, combined with data at rest protection, lets healthcare organizations protect e-PHI and the intellectual property in AI algorithms, even on untrusted infrastructure. Fortanix says it makes it possible to enroll computing resources, in the cloud or on-premises, and deploy existing applications within a secure TEE in minutes.[1][3][5][9][10]

Fortanix on the record

Sources

Fortanix full record

  1. [1]fortanix.comFortanix · fortanix.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Fortanix and site partner to deliver multicloud saas data security offering to saudi arabian marketFortanix · fortanix.com · published July 1, 2023 · Tier A
  3. [3]Securing Data in an AI worldFortanix · undated page, accessed October 24, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Runtime EncryptionFortanix · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]SOX Security | Solutions | ComplianceFortanix · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]CustomersFortanix · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]HSM Modernization: Simplifying data security | WhitePaperFortanix · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Applying Zero Trust Principles to Data Security | WhitepaperFortanix · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]BeeKeeperAI Case StudyFortanix · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Data Security-as-a-Service: Easier Security & ComplianceFortanix · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Fortanix Announces Confidential AI for Enterprise Grade Kubernetes Workloads on CNCF® Confidential Containers (CoCo)Business Wire · published October 19, 2026 · Tier A

SandboxAQ full record

  1. [1]Aqtive guardSandboxAQ · sandboxaq.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Sandboxaq closes 450m series e round with expanded investor baseSandboxAQ · sandboxaq.com · published April 4, 2025 · Tier A
  3. [3]What is sandboxaqSandboxAQ · sandboxaq.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Transforming the World with AI and Advanced Computing | SandboxAQSandboxAQ · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Large Quantitative Models | SandboxAQSandboxAQ · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Pricing | SandboxAQSandboxAQ · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Sandwich - Agile Cryptography for Developers | SandboxAQSandboxAQ · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Material Discovery | Turn complex materials discovery into faster decisions | SandboxAQSandboxAQ · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]AQNav | Positional intelligence in GPS-denied environments | SandboxAQSandboxAQ · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]LQM Models | SandboxAQSandboxAQ · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]AQMed | CardiAQ Magnetocardiography for Cardiac DiagnosticsSandboxAQ · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]AI Drug Discovery Platform | Computational Chemistry LQMs | SandboxAQSandboxAQ · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

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