SandboxAQ’s Kathryn Wang Wins 1st Wash100 Award for Driving Mission-Oriented Innovations in AI, Quantum & Cyber
Executive Mosaic is proud to announce the selection of SandboxAQ’s Kathryn Wang as a winner of the Wash100 Award for 2026. The Wash100 Award is a prestigious accolade given out annually to the 100 most influential and impactful members of the government and the government contracting industry in recognition of their accomplishments over the past year and in anticipation of future contributions. 2026 marks the first time Wang has been given this honor.
“We’re excited to celebrate Kathryn’s first Wash100 Award, a well-deserved milestone that highlights her growing influence and innovative spirit in GovCon,” said Executive Mosaic CEO and Wash100 Award founder Jim Garrettson, who noted the “key role” Wang played “in advancing SandboxAQ’s five-year agreement with the Department of War chief information officer—an important step in strengthening cryptographic visibility and supporting the department’s shift toward post-quantum cybersecurity.”
“Kathryn brings a rare combination of strategic insight, technical forward-thinking and mission focus, and this inaugural Wash100 honor is a powerful signal of the lasting impact she is poised to make across federal technology and national security,” Garrettson added.
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Who Is Kathryn Wang?
Kathryn Wang describes herself on LinkedIn as a “mad scientist in cyber security partnerships and sales.” Passionate for innovation, Wang says her personal mission is to maximize what she describes as “human authenticity” via the global development and adoption of technology.
Private Sector and Non-Profit Work
Wang’s career includes time spent in Google, joining the technology company in 2004 as a senior associate relationship manager, in which capacity she handled a portfolio whose quarterly managed revenue ranged from $30 million to $50 million. She later took on account executive roles and subsequently took on the role of senior business development lead for the U.S. and Asia-Pacific for Google’s AdLingo offering, which is powered by artificial intelligence to drive brand engagement, conversions and services. In that last position, Wang’s responsibilities included leading partnership sales and activation efforts across her target markets, and developing and producing go-to-market strategies.
For a time, Wang worked at cybersecurity company HUMAN, initially serving as senior director of sales for application integrity, then later being named vice president of partnerships and sales for the public and commercial sectors. In 2024, she established Ctrl+Alt+Defeat.io, which works to seek and curate technological offerings that, in turn, could be provided to government and commercial clients seeking tools to help them achieve their goals.
On the part of non-profits, Wang currently serves as co-chair for the Uniting Women in Cyber division of The Cyber Guild, which works to promote inclusivity in the cybersecurity workforce by advancing women through education and community building. She also serves as a board adviser at Building Cyber Security, a non-profit organization “whose sole purpose is to lead the battle against nation states and criminals attacking the technology we rely on for our existence in order to enhance human safety.”
Joining SandboxAQ
In November 2024, Wang joined SandboxAQ, taking on the role of principal for the public sector, a position she has held since. Commenting on her appointment at the time, Wang said, she sought “to advance post-quantum cryptography and forge critical public-sector partnerships to safeguard the systems that matter most.”
“With platforms in post-quantum cryptography, bio-simulation, quantum navigation, and advanced materials research, we’re tackling the world’s most urgent challenges while pushing the boundaries of what is possible,” she added.
Why Is Wang Being Honored With the 2026 Wash100 Award?
Executive Mosaic is honoring Kathryn Wang with the Wash100 Award this year because of her having contributed to efforts that seek to ensure national and warfighter cyber resilience via innovations in AI and quantum.
Automating Cryptographic Discovery at the Department of War
Illustrative of this contribution is a five-year agreement SandboxAQ has entered into with the Department of War Office of the Chief Information Officer to help identify and assess cryptographic assets across the agency’s networks.
Under the agreement, the company will provide AQtive Guard, a cryptography management and inventory tool designed to help organizations identify vulnerabilities across their IT environments. It uses artificial intelligence to evaluate, triage and remediate non-human identity and cryptographic risks. The tool was launched in April 2025 and achieved Ready status under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program in December.
AQtive Guard will be used in the partnership to automate cryptographic discovery and inventory activities, providing stakeholders a clearer view of algorithms, keys, dependencies and vulnerabilities that may require modernization ahead of quantum-enabled threats. The effort will help support a coordinated shift towards post-quantum cryptography.
Supporting the Transition of Quantum Sensing Program
SandboxAQ will also help with the development of magnetic navigation systems under a partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit to benefit autonomous U.S. military platforms. The partnership will see SandboxAQ provide its AQNav software, which a company official described as “a vital, non-GPS-reliant path for [position, navigation and timing].”
SandboxAQ’s collaboration with DIU is part of the Transition of Quantum Sensing program, which seeks the adoption of commercial quantum sensing technologies to enhance PNT functions where Global Navigation Satellite Systems signals are unreliable.
Thought Leadership on AI, Cyber and Quantum
Despite supporting innovations in AI, Wang is keenly aware of the risks that accompany the technology. During an episode of the PrOTect It All podcast in 2025, the SandboxAQ executive said organizations must consider what could benefit from being connected to AI, and what should remain analog systems. She cited a vulnerability in Google’s Gemini AI, whose exploitation — were it to occur in a highly sensitive setting like a military installation — could result in adverse effects. She also warned of the dangers of AI poisoning, which could bring about disruptions in critical infrastructure and undermine military readiness.
Through 2025, Wang also shared her thoughts on cybersecurity during two events hosted by the Potomac Officers Club. In May, she participated in a panel on defense cyber during the Cyber Summit, and in August, she participated in a panel on zero trust during the Navy Summit.
And this January, Wang participated in a panel on U.S. quantum leadership during the 2026 Defense R&D Summit.
Innovating With Purpose
In light of the importance of AI, quantum technologies and cyber resilience, especially in national security, the value of Wang’s contributions in terms of her expertise and the work she does at SandboxAQ cannot be overstated.
“We stand at a frontier where AI and quantum offer us the keys to the universe. Our mission of cyber resilience is the anchor that allows us to innovate with purpose,” Wang said when commenting on her being conferred the Wash100 Award, adding, “It is the quiet, unbreakable promise that no matter how the digital storm rages, our national resolve and our warfighter’s edge will remain undimmed and undisputed.”
Driving this kind of purpose and mission-driven innovation is what makes Kathryn Wang deserving of GovCon’s most coveted accolade.
What Is SandboxAQ?
SandboxAQ is a technology company that focuses on AI and quantum. Its Large Quantitative Models have applications in a variety of sectors, including cyber, navigation and the life sciences.
The company was spun out of Alphabet in 2022. Since then, it has raised over $950 million in funding to advance the development of its quantitative AI technologies. Its latest financing round was in April 2025, during which it raised over $450 million in capital. The company said at the time that it would use the funding to accelerate innovation in quantitative artificial intelligence and broaden its reach across critical industries.
Executive Mosaic congratulates Kathryn Wang and her team for this momentous achievement. Vote for Kathryn Wang as one of your favorite 2026 Wash100 Award winners this year by visiting Wash100.com!