How Singapore’s Aires Is Turning Diophantine Mathematics Into Quantum-Resistant File Encryption
Aires Applied Quantum Technology, founded by Lim Meng Liang and Ken Lin in 2023, is commercialising a Diophantine equation based encryption method patented in the U.S. LionGuard encrypts files on devices, cloud storage and networks using sender generated keys; the recipient uses the app to unlock the file.
Aires Applied Quantum Technology, founded by Lim Meng Liang and Ken Lin in 2023, is commercialising a Diophantine equation based encryption method patented in the U.S.
LionGuard encrypts files on devices, cloud storage and networks using sender generated keys; the recipient uses the app to unlock the file.
Aires is pursuing software based quantum safe security, 2D code encryption and international expansion as Singapore invests close to S$300 million in its National Quantum Strategy.
How did Singaporean brothers Lim Meng Liang and Ken Lin turn Lim’s expertise in supposedly unsolvable Diophantine equations and his 2022 USAI-generated conceptual illustration of the mathematical and quantum-security ideas behind Aires’ LionGuard encryption software.
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A mathematical research idea became a Singaporean cybersecurity start-up when brothers Lim Meng Liang and Ken Lin founded Aires Applied Quantum Technology in 2023. Lim brought the applied-mathematics and cryptography research; Ken moved from finance and investment work to help commercialise it. Their first major product, LionGuard, is a file-encryption application marketed as protection against both present-day attacks and future quantum-enabled decryption attempts.
The opportunity is based on a simple but consequential security problem: sensitive data stolen today could potentially be decrypted later if attackers gain access to sufficiently powerful quantum computers. Aires is betting that difficult mathematical problems can provide a different foundation for protecting that data. The technology is promising as a commercial experiment, but its strongest security claims should be treated as claims to evaluate—not as proof that the product is “unbreakable.”
From Diophantine equations to a company
Diophantine equations are mathematical equations whose solutions are sought in integers. Lim’s work on these problems became the basis for a patented encryption concept involving Diophantine equations and artificial intelligence.
U.S. patent US 11,522,674 B1 lists Lim Meng Liang as inventor and Aires Investment Holdings Private Ltd as assignee. The patent was granted on December 6, 2022, and describes encryption, decryption and symmetric-key generation involving Diophantine equations.
The brothers then spent roughly three years developing LionGuard. Reporting describes Lim as continuing to manage his investment interests while Ken left an established finance career to focus on building the start-up and bringing the intellectual property to market.
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Aires Applied Quantum Technology, founded by Lim Meng Liang and Ken Lin in 2023, is commercialising a Diophantine equation based encryption method patented in the U.S.
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Aires Applied Quantum Technology, founded by Lim Meng Liang and Ken Lin in 2023, is commercialising a Diophantine equation based encryption method patented in the U.S. LionGuard encrypts files on devices, cloud storage and networks using sender generated keys; the recipient uses the app to unlock the file.
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Aires is pursuing software based quantum safe security, 2D code encryption and international expansion as Singapore invests close to S$300 million in its National Quantum Strategy.
That division of responsibilities shaped Aires’ business: the company was not formed to build a quantum computer, but to turn a mathematical security approach into software that organisations can deploy without replacing their existing infrastructure.
What LionGuard does
LionGuard is a subscription application for encrypting files stored on devices, in cloud systems or across networks. The sender generates an encryption key and sends it to the intended recipient through the app. The recipient must use LionGuard to decrypt and open the protected file.
Aires describes LionGuard as post-quantum encryption software powered by its patented Diophantine methodology. Its Microsoft Marketplace listing also identifies AES-256 encryption as part of the product’s protection.
In practical terms, LionGuard’s pitch is less about changing how users handle files and more about adding a security layer around the files they already store and share. That software-first approach is central to Aires’ positioning in a market where many organisations need to plan for post-quantum security without investing in specialised quantum hardware.
How the quantum-security argument works
The threat Aires is addressing is often described as “harvest now, decrypt later”: an attacker collects encrypted information today and waits for future advances in computing to make decryption feasible. The company argues that its encryption method is difficult to defeat because it relies on solving hard Diophantine-equation problems, including in a future quantum-computing environment.
That argument needs careful qualification. A granted patent confirms that a patent was issued for the disclosed invention; it does not, by itself, establish that a cryptographic system has passed extensive independent cryptanalysis, implementation testing, standardisation review or real-world security validation. The available reporting and product descriptions do not provide enough evidence to verify that level of assurance.
A more precise description is therefore that LionGuard is marketed as quantum-resistant, rather than proven to be immune to quantum attacks. That distinction matters for businesses choosing encryption for regulated, confidential or long-lived data.
Price and beta-stage adoption
As reported in June 2026, LionGuard was still in beta and had more than 100 subscribers. Reported enterprise users came from sectors including oil and gas, commodities trading, education technology, cloud services and banking or financial services.
The published price was S$388 per user per month. Aires said it planned to reduce the price to make the product more accessible to smaller organisations, including law firms, accounting practices, food-and-beverage chains, family offices and other businesses handling sensitive data.
The beta-stage status is important context. It indicates early commercial traction, but it is not the same as broad market adoption or independent confirmation of the product’s security performance.
Patents and possible applications beyond files
Aires says it holds four international patents relating to advanced data encryption. Its broader product ambitions extend beyond file protection: the company has also been piloting encryption for two-dimensional codes, including barcodes and QR codes, in Europe.
Those applications are aimed at areas such as payments, logistics, supply-chain authentication and product tagging. The strategy gives Aires several potential routes to market, although each use case would require its own assessment of interoperability, performance, compliance and security.
Funding and expansion plans
At the time of the June 2026 reporting, Aires had secured more than US$2 million from private investors and local agencies including Enterprise Singapore. The company was seeking a potential listing in the United States, Singapore or Japan to raise an eight-digit sum for international marketing and expansion. It had eight staff at its MacPherson location.
The proposed expansion reflects a common challenge for deep-tech security companies: developing a novel technical approach is only the first step. Aires must also demonstrate that its software integrates smoothly, performs reliably, meets customer and regulatory expectations, and can withstand independent technical scrutiny.
Where Aires fits in Singapore’s quantum strategy
Aires’ approach aligns with Singapore’s effort to move quantum technology from research into commercial applications. Singapore’s National Quantum Strategy commits close to S$300 million over five years and is designed to support quantum research, engineering, talent and deployment.
Within that ecosystem, Aires represents the software and cybersecurity side of the market. Rather than developing processors or quantum-computing hardware, it is attempting to package quantum-safe protection into applications and enterprise technology. Company materials also describe quantum-resistant APIs for integration with business systems, while LionGuard is positioned as a user-facing encryption product.
That makes Aires an example of a broader commercial pattern: companies are preparing for the quantum era before large-scale quantum computers are available, because encrypted information may need to remain confidential for years or decades.
Why the brothers left finance to build it
The founders’ career change is part of the product story. Lim’s mathematical expertise supplied the technical premise, but Ken’s move from finance into start-up building gave the idea a commercial route. According to reporting, potential customers initially had difficulty distinguishing quantum cryptography from cryptocurrency. By 2026, conversations had shifted toward integration, deployment timing and long-term readiness.
That shift suggests the market is becoming more practical. Organisations are no longer interested only in whether quantum computing is a distant possibility; they also want to know how a security product fits into existing systems, what it costs and whether its protection can be independently trusted.
Aires’ central wager is therefore twofold: that difficult mathematics can support a useful new encryption product, and that customers will adopt it before the quantum threat becomes immediate. LionGuard gives the brothers a concrete way to test that wager—but the decisive test will be sustained technical validation, not the novelty of the underlying mathematics alone.
