Cybersecurity company Wisekey is to publicly list its satellite subsidiary via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) merger.

WISeKey International Holding AG, in association with Columbus Acquisition Corp, has announced they have entered a definitive business combination agreement to merge Columbus and WISeKey’s subsidiary WISeSat.Space Corp, which owns WISeSat.Space AG, creating a public company listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange named WISeSat.Space Holdings Corp.

“By combining WISeSat with Columbus, we are accelerating the commercialization of our satellite-based cybersecurity and IoT ecosystem and enabling WISeSat to emerge as a new, independent publicly listed space-tech company on Nasdaq,” Carlos Moreira, founder and CEO of WISeKey, said in a statement.

“We believe this business combination strengthens our capital base and positions WISeSat to scale from a network of 14 satellites already in orbit to the targeted deployment of 100 further satellites by 2030, reinforcing Europe's technological sovereignty and leadership in secure space systems. We look forward to continuing this journey as we deploy the world’s first post-quantum-secure satellite platform and shape the foundation of trusted digital communications for the decades ahead.”

WISeSat and its partners have launched 22 LEO satellites, 14 of which are currently operational in its constellation, and intend to deploy 100 satellites by 2030 to enable post-quantum IoT connectivity for industries like defense, logistics, agriculture, and environmental monitoring.

Columbus Acquisition Corp is a special purpose acquisition company based in the Cayman Islands led by chairman and CEO Fen “Eric” Zhang, a Canadian national with a history in M&A in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

The WISeSat.Space brand delivers a satellite platform intended to facilitate secure IoT connectivity that uses post-quantum cryptographic chips from SEALSQ, a semiconductor developer specialising in quantum security based in the South of France.

In combination with WISeKey’s Root of Trust and WISeID security systems, the combined company hopes to compete in the market of satellite encryption, authentication, and identity management data technologies.

During November, WISeSat intends to launch its first satellite equipped with SEALSQ’s Quantum Shield technology from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California to demonstrate its post-quantum satellite IoT offering.

“As quantum computing transforms the global cybersecurity landscape, WISeSat is pioneering a future in which critical data, devices, and infrastructures are protected end-to-end, from Earth to orbit,” Moreira added in the same statement.

In connection with the business combination, WISeKey and SEALSQ are expected to make investments resulting in no less than $10 million in cash to WISeSat.

Upon the closing of the agreement, expected in the first half of 2026, WISeKey will receive 25 million shares in the entity at $10 per share – which would possess a $250 million equity valuation before fees and expenses, and retain majority ownership.