CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

SandboxAQ vs Thales

SandboxAQ is a science-first technology company that connects AI and Quantum techniques across pharma, energy, defense, and other markets. Thales sells cybersecurity solutions that protect applications, data and identities. CISO Tribune files both under Post-quantum cryptography and Encryption, tokenization and key management. 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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  • SandboxAQ
  • Thales
SandboxAQ vs Thales: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
SandboxAQSandboxAQ is a science-first technology company that connects AI and Quantum techniques across pharma, energy, defense, and other markets.sandboxaq.comThalesThales sells cybersecurity solutions that protect applications, data and identities.cpl.thalesgroup.com
What it sells
  • 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.
  • CipherTrust Data Security Platform[2][5]A platform to discover, protect and control sensitive data anywhere.
  • CipherTrust DSPM[5]A data security offering Thales describes as new.
  • Thales AI Security Fabric[5]An offering to keep AI apps, agents, data and models secure.
  • Imperva Application Security Platform[5]A platform to protect applications, APIs and websites.
  • OneWelcome Identity Platform[5]An identity platform for digital experiences.
  • SafeNet Trusted Access[9]An offering to secure VDI access from any endpoint.
  • Sentinel Software Monetization Platform[5]A platform to monetize and protect software.
Categories
Headquarters
Palo Alto, United States[3]Paris, France[4]
Founded
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Ownership and funding
Privately held[2][5][6]Public (Euronext Paris: HO)[3][12]
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
Not stated on its pages
  • November 2, 2026Thales appointed David Zolet as CEO of Thales Defense & Security, Inc., effective November 2, 2026, succeeding Michael Sheehan, who is retiring.[11]
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: listed, seen November 3, 2026[12]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
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.From its own pages, Thales sells mainly to organizations across finance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing and critical infrastructure. Thales says its data security solutions work across hybrid IT. Thales says its solutions can help organizations in the Defense Industrial Base with CMMC requirements. Thales positions its identity platform for customers, employees and partners.
Last verified
November 2, 2026September 27, 2026

Where they overlap

  • SandboxAQ and Thales are both filed under Post-quantum cryptography and Encryption, tokenization and key management.

Where they differ, field by field

  • SandboxAQ's primary category is Post-quantum cryptography; Thales's is Encryption, tokenization and key management.
  • SandboxAQ is also filed under Machine identity and PKI.
  • SandboxAQ lists AQtive Guard, Sandwich, Large Quantitative Models, AQCat Adsorption Spin, AQPotency and 2 more. Thales lists CipherTrust Data Security Platform, CipherTrust DSPM, Thales AI Security Fabric, Imperva Application Security Platform, OneWelcome Identity Platform and 2 more.
  • SandboxAQ is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States. Thales is headquartered in Paris, France.
  • SandboxAQ is privately held. Thales is a public company listed on Euronext Paris as HO.

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.

What it sells: Thales

What CipherTrust Data Security Platform does[2][5]
Thales says the platform gives real-time visibility of threats, risks and compliance gaps. It provides centralized key management with data discovery and classification, data protection and granular access control across multiple on-premises and cloud infrastructure providers.

Questions about SandboxAQ and Thales

What do SandboxAQ and Thales sell?
SandboxAQ sells AQtive Guard, Sandwich, Large Quantitative Models, AQCat Adsorption Spin, AQPotency and 2 more. Thales sells CipherTrust Data Security Platform, CipherTrust DSPM, Thales AI Security Fabric, Imperva Application Security Platform, OneWelcome Identity Platform and 2 more.
Are SandboxAQ and Thales in the same category?
They share Post-quantum cryptography and Encryption, tokenization and key management. SandboxAQ's primary category is Post-quantum cryptography and Thales's is Encryption, tokenization and key management.
Where are SandboxAQ and Thales headquartered?
SandboxAQ is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States. Thales is headquartered in Paris, France.
Who owns SandboxAQ and Thales?
SandboxAQ is privately held. Thales is a public company listed on Euronext Paris as HO.
Who are SandboxAQ and Thales sold to?
From its own pages, SandboxAQ sells to organizations across pharma, energy, defense, and other markets. From its own pages, Thales sells mainly to organizations across finance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing and critical infrastructure.
What have SandboxAQ and Thales announced recently?
November 2, 2026: Thales appointed David Zolet as CEO of Thales Defense & Security, Inc., effective November 2, 2026, succeeding Michael Sheehan, who is retiring.

About SandboxAQ

SandboxAQ is a science-first technology company that connects AI and Quantum techniques across pharma, energy, defense, and other markets. SandboxAQ was spun out of Alphabet in 2022. REAQT is an LQM-powered AI platform from SandboxAQ that serves multiple verticals.[4][8]

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, fine-tune models on their proprietary data, and access dozens of specialized modules. SandboxAQ offers long-term, shared-risk engagements with milestone-based alignment. SandboxAQ provides pay-as-you-go access options for individuals and enterprises. AQCat Adsorption Spin is available via LLM integration and can be accessed via any MCP client.[8]

SandboxAQ says most organizations lack real-time visibility and control over where cryptography is used, where it's vulnerable, and how to fix it fast. AQtive Guard gives security teams insight into cryptographic assets and NHIs, then automates remediation. AQtive Guard works across existing infrastructure and cloud environments. AQtive Guard discovers and monitors cryptographic assets and NHIs across hybrid environments. AQtive Guard detects and remediates weak, expired, or non-compliant keys, certs, and algorithms. AQtive Guard automates lifecycle management including credential rotation and certificate renewal. AQtive Guard includes post-quantum cryptography support, and its stated uses include compliance with FIPS 140-2, PCI DSS, NIST, and custom policies.[1]

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. The protocols and implementations available at runtime depend on the choices made when compiling the Sandwich library. Sandwich gives developers the ability to change configurations without having to re-compile their code.[7]

AQBioSim enables biopharma teams to model interactions, predict outcomes, and optimize drug candidates in silico. AQChemSim uses LQMs to predict how molecules, materials, and industrial systems behave under real-world conditions. AQCat is a machine learning interatomic potential trained on 13.5 million quantum chemistry calculations across 47,000 catalyst systems. AQCat Adsorption Spin predicts spin-polarized adsorption energies and converged geometries on catalytic surfaces. AQCat Dispersion expands catalyst modeling to large molecules, including C5+ fuels and plastics precursors. AQPotency is a Large Quantitative Model for potency prediction and virtual screening that ranks protein-ligand pairs by predicted binding strength (pIC50) without requiring a 3D crystal structure of the target. AQADME is an ADME and pharmacokinetic property-prediction model for candidate molecules.[4][8][10]

AQNav is designed to be compliant with MOSA standards. SandboxAQ characterizes and evaluates sensors for AQNav across performance, environmental, and integration criteria. CardiAQ combines advanced magnetic sensing, AI-powered Large Quantitative Models (LQMs), and electromagnetic interference rejection. CardiAQ is an investigational device. AQMed has partnerships with academic medical centers, including Mount Sinai and Mayo Clinic.[9][11]

SandboxAQ worked with NOVONIX on predicting lithium-ion battery end-of-life with LQMs. SandboxAQ partnered with AWS, Intel, and Accenture on a near-exact simulation of PFAS bond-breaking chemistry across more than one million vCPUs. SandboxAQ collaborated with DIC and AWS on a simulation of an organometallic catalyst. SandboxAQ has a dedicated biopharma team combining expertise in computational chemistry, medicinal chemistry, biology, bioinformatics, AI, and software engineering.[1][7][8][9][12]

SandboxAQ on the record

Sources

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

Thales full record

  1. [1]cpl.thalesgroup.comThales · cpl.thalesgroup.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]CipherTrust Data Security Platform | ThalesThales · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Thales reports its order intake and sales first quarter 2026Thales · thalesgroup.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Thales moves head office paris la defenseThales · thalesgroup.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Cyber Security Solutions | ThalesThales · undated page, accessed October 29, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Thales Cybersecurity SolutionsThales · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Forrester Research Shows Economic Impact of CipherTrust PlatformThales · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]CMMC 2.0 Cybersecurity Compliance Solutions | ThalesThales · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]VDI Security SolutionsThales · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]2025 Cloud Security Research - Latest TrendsThales · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Thales appoints David Zolet as CEO of TDSIThales Group · published November 2, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Thales Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features - G2G2 · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier C

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