Cyber Security Startups Prepare For Takeoff

London's cyber  innovation specialist Plexal has announced that a total of 108 British security startups are to join its Cyber Runway accelerator programme, designed to address some of the most pressing security challenges facing the UK, such as ransomware and fraud, with cutting-edge emerging technology.

Cyber Runway is the largest cyber startup accelerator in the UK and has one of the most diverse community of cyber founders in the country.

The participants are solving challenges like ransomware, cyber fraud, cyber-physical threats to critical national infrastructure, cloud security, improving threat intelligence and boosting education using emerging technologies such as AI, quantum and cloud security.

Plexal said the Cyber Runway will host the largest cohort of new security businesses ever seen in the UK, and the most diverse community of founders, with 45% of entrants led by women, and 52% by people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. The programme also boasts increased regional representation, with 50% of companies based outside of London and South East England.

“The scale of Cyber Runway is testament to the enormous potential within the cyber startup community and will help stimulate the supply of innovative cyber solutions that will be needed by the economy and society." said Saj Huq,  Plexal's Director of Innovation

Cyber Runway is specifically designed to address some of the challenges facing cyber startups as they scale. The aim of the programmes is to connect cyber founders to the mentors, investors and corporates to accelerate growth and identify diverse talent.

The programme is funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and delivered by Plexal in partnership with CyLon, Deloitte and CSIT (the Centre for Secure Information Technologies), Cyber Runway will be an intensive six-month programme. 

The scheme will be split into three “streams” depending on what stage of the startup or scaleup lifecycle each participant has reached.  These are: 

• Launch, providing support with setting up a business, creating a minimum viable product, and business networking.

• Grow, addressing growing pains, funding access, and achieving commercial success.

• Scale, helping scaleups access support, including one-on-one mentoring to grow in the UK and abroad.

"This is a golden age for the UK cyber startup ecosystem. Cyber startups are attracting record levels of investment and both the government and global tech giants are coming to British cyber companies to adopt emerging cyber technologies." according to Saj Huq.

Plexal:     Ein News:        Computer Weekly:       Paperboat:     NationalWizz: 

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