diff --git a/src/concrete/ml/quantization/linear_op_glwe_backend.py b/src/concrete/ml/quantization/linear_op_glwe_backend.py
index bcba247de..66604928b 100644
--- a/src/concrete/ml/quantization/linear_op_glwe_backend.py
+++ b/src/concrete/ml/quantization/linear_op_glwe_backend.py
@@ -29,8 +29,7 @@ def __init__(
         private_key=None,
         compression_key=None,
     ):
-        if not has_glwe_backend():
-            raise RuntimeError("GLWE backend not installed")
+        assert has_glwe_backend(), "GLWE backend not installed"
 
         import concrete_ml_extensions as fhext