Airbus has completed its acquisition of Quarkslab, a French cybersecurity firm known for its QShield product, which protects software from threats related to artificial intelligence. The deal, initially announced in April, strengthens Airbus's cybersecurity strategy and was finalized on October 1st. Regulatory approvals are still pending, but the transaction has now officially concluded. The purchase price has not yet been disclosed, and the acquisition took just over five months to complete. Quarkslab was founded in 2011 by Fred Raynal, who now serves as a strategic advisor to the company. It employs around 100 people, mostly based in Paris and Rennes, a city known as a hub for cybersecurity in France. Since 2020, the company has been supported by Tikehau Capital, an asset management firm with a strong presence in the cyber sector. Quarkslab specializes in protecting users, data, and critical assets from cyberattacks. Its in-house team, known as QLab, creates custom security solutions for both governments and private companies. The company is notable for combining academic research with real-world applications in cybersecurity. Quarkslab's flagship product, QShield, is designed for software publishers to protect their programs from threats related to artificial intelligence. It secures code, data, and sensitive information, and also defends components installed in the field, rather than in data centers, against reverse engineering. This process involves taking apart a system to understand how it works, much like opening a watch to copy its mechanism. Hackers and AI systems can use this method, especially in defense and aerospace sectors. For Airbus, Quarkslab is not a new name. The company was already one of its suppliers and partners, and Fred Raynal began his career in cybersecurity within Airbus. During the April announcement, Raynal emphasized the need for stronger cybersecurity players in Europe and noted that Airbus was among the few capable of helping Quarkslab grow to serve governments and critical infrastructure. François Lombard, director of the Connected Intelligence division at Airbus Defence and Space, stated that the acquisition will strengthen the company's growing cyber capabilities and help build a "digital shield" to protect the countries where Airbus operates and its allies. This acquisition follows previous moves by Airbus, including the purchase of German firm Infodas in 2024 and British company Ultra Cyber earlier this year. The company now has cybersecurity teams in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, and Finland. These teams are responsible for securing the complex systems and networks that Airbus primarily provides to governments, military forces, and institutions.