ICTK, a Korean quantum-security fabless established in 2017, has shipped more than 15 million physical-unclonable-function (PUF) security chips — including 3 million units delivered to Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) for remote meter reading — the company's CEO said this week, the strongest commercial benchmark yet for a technology it has built since founding.

The figures follow two international awards in consecutive months: a small-business ICT-sector selection at the WIPO Global Awards 2026 in July, and a gold medal plus the Santa Clara Market Award at the Silicon Valley International Invention Festival in August. ICTK held 150 patents at home and abroad as of March.

What does VIA PUF actually do?

VIA PUF exploits minute process variations between otherwise identical chips. Each die carries a unique, unreproducible signature derived from those variations, which ICTK converts into an encryption key on demand.

CEO Lee Jung-won framed the design choice against conventional key storage. "The existing security technology was vulnerable to hacking because it often stores encryption keys in memory inside semiconductors," Lee said in an interview with South Korean daily Mail Business. "ICTK's technology creates encryption keys using the unique characteristics of semiconductors only when authentication is required, and removes them when use is over."

The chip generates the key at the moment of authentication and discards it immediately afterward. No persistent key image remains in non-volatile memory for an attacker to extract.

How is quantum resistance layered in?

The PUF identifier feeds into a post-quantum cryptography (PQC) engine that ICTK has implemented in hardware rather than in software alone. The company argues that algorithm upgrades alone do not deliver quantum-safe security; the key itself must be rooted in hardware that cannot be cloned.

"Quantum security is not complete just by applying a new cryptographic algorithm," Lee said. "Hardware-based technology that can secure the encryption key itself is also important."

ICTK's flagship product, the G5Q, pairs semiconductor fingerprint identification with on-chip quantum-resistant encryption in a single device. The architecture operates as a dual-defense system: PUF identifies the device, PQC protects the data it handles.

Where does ICTK ship next?

ICTK plans to address three end markets beyond its KEPCO smart-metering footprint:

• Defense applications, where per-device identity supports parts provenance
• Automotive battery authentication and repair-history tracking for high-value components
• Industrial IoT devices that lack native PUF and PQC primitives

Lee confirmed a licensing-plus-chip-supply model for North America, run through local subsidiaries. The strategy combines IP design-rights deals with packaged chip and module sales, allowing overseas customers to brand ICTK technology under their own product lines. The company did not name specific North American partners.

What the milestones don't yet show

The 15-million-unit tally is anchored in utility metering, where revenue moves with large but slowly refreshing capex budgets. Scaling into automotive and defense involves the multi-year qualification cycles typical of those programs.

The WIPO and Silicon Valley recognitions give ICTK new visibility at a moment when regulators and standards bodies are beginning to require post-quantum primitives in connected-device silicon. Whether North American licensing conversations translate into volume shipments, and whether the now-150 patent portfolio holds up against established PUF IP holders, will determine whether the KEPCO deployment becomes a stepping stone or a ceiling.