ZeroTier, one of the world's top software-defined networking companies, today announced the launch of release candidate 2 (RC2) for ZeroTier Quantum, the world's only end-to-end quantum-secure networking platform. This milestone marks the final testing phase, positioning the platform just one step away from general availability (GA). ZeroTier Quantum addresses the looming threat of quantum computing to traditional encryption by meeting NIST and NSA's highest standards at CNSA 2.0 — meeting or exceeding post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) hurdles defined by the U.S. government.
ZeroTier Quantum RC2 marks final testing phase before general availability.
Platform meets NIST and NSA CNSA 2.0 standards for post-quantum cryptography.
Built in Rust with zero-trust, memory-safe architecture using ML-KEM-1024 and hybrid AES-384 cryptography.
Delivers 30% lower CPU utilization compared to similar SDN platforms.
Secured commercial and PoC relationships across defense, enterprise cloud, and critical infrastructure.
Includes independent third-party code audit and penetration test ahead of full commercial availability.
ZeroTier Quantum RC2 delivers on the brand's foundational pillars of security, performance, and flexibility, providing robust quantum defense capabilities without layers of operational and implementation friction. To maximize security, the platform neutralizes "harvest now, decrypt later" and "trust now, forge later" threats using a zero-trust, memory-safe architecture built in Rust, and leveraging the ZeroTier Protocol (ZTP). By pairing ML-KEM-1024 and hybrid AES-384 cryptography with mutual identity authentication, it delivers software-defined end-to-end protection across all key attack vectors. This defense-in-depth approach ensures seamless compliance with FIPS and CNSA 2.0 standards.
Performance is driven by a peer-to-peer mesh architecture that uses automatic path selection to eliminate bottlenecks, bypass congestion, and offer high resilience. Engineered for maximum efficiency, the platform delivers 30% lower CPU utilization when compared to similar software-defined networking platforms. Additionally, its lightweight control plane and intelligent buffering cut memory overhead, ensuring high-performance scalability. Built-in hardware cryptographic acceleration and parallelized transport also ensure high throughput without introducing network latency.
Flexibility spans both deployment privacy-levels as well as network topologies. Driven by an infrastructure-agnostic policy fabric and true Layer 2 virtualization that emulates a global ethernet switch to instantly adapt to any configuration or moving endpoint. This ensures seamless execution across public cloud, sovereign, or air-gapped deployments while extending secure downstream connectivity to edge and IoT devices incapable of running native agents.
Andrew Gault, CEO of ZeroTier, stated: "Reaching our final release candidate milestone brings us to the precipice of a new era in network security. ZeroTier Quantum isn't an incremental update; it's a fundamental paradigm shift. We've successfully added quantum-resistant cryptographic agility into our core architecture, while increasing the performance and resilience our customers depend upon. As we finalize our path to general availability, we're giving organizations the tools to protect their data today against the quantum threats of tomorrow."
Robert Stevenson, CCO at ZeroTier, added: "Our strategy has been clear and the marketplace traction we're seeing with ZeroTier Quantum in its core configuration ahead of GA has been brisk. Our securing commercial and PoC relationships across defense, enterprise cloud, and critical infrastructure proves that quantum-resilience is no longer a theoretical concern. It's an operational requirement. Organizations running COMSEC-grade communications or managing high-value assets recognize that waiting is a risk they don't need to take. ZeroTier Quantum gives them immediate acceleration in their quantum journey and future-proofing for their networks today."
The value of ZeroTier Quantum is already being validated in the field. ZeroTier also announced today that it's secured numerous commercial and proof-of-concept (PoC) relationships ahead of the GA release. These engagements span highly specialized and high-stakes industries, ranging from tactical networks to drone operations to critical manufacturing. With RC2 now live, ZeroTier is inviting select enterprise partners to participate in final validation testing ahead of the official general availability launch scheduled for later this year.
About ZeroTier
ZeroTier gives organizations exactly what they need: a modern solution to the overengineered chaos of legacy networking. It's secure, direct, global connectivity that actually works. Whether managing a single device or an entire enterprise fleet, ZeroTier connects everything directly through a secure network you create and control and is SOC 2 compliant. ZeroTier Quantum, which meets NIST and NSA's highest standards at CNSA 2.0, extends that simplicity as the world's first end-to-end quantum-secure networking platform. Trusted by leaders across every industry, ZeroTier received a 2026 Cybersecurity Excellence Award and is backed by Anorak Ventures, Battery Ventures, and Bonfire Ventures.
