NCSC Announces First Cohort for New Cyber Startup Program

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has unveiled the first five tech companies that will take part in its new startup program.

The NCSC For Startups initiative, first announced in June, will support innovative cybersecurity firms to develop products that will help protect critical areas of the UK’s economy and society from online harms.

The NCSC is collaborating with innovation company Plexal to run the program. It is the successor to the highly successful NCSC Cyber Accelerator initiative, which helped more than 40 startups raise over £100m in external investment.

The first five successful applicants for the new program focus on a range of areas within cybersecurity, including cyber fraud detection, SaaS and ransomware protection. They are as follows:

These companies will receive continuous onboarding from NCSC experts and Plexal’s cyber innovation team over 12 months. Additionally, they will gain access to wider technical and commercial opportunities with Plexal’s industry partners. The startups will also keep all intellectual property and equity created during the program, which is supported by Deloitte, CyNam, Cheltenham-based coworking space Hub8 and tech skills provider QA. 

The onboarding will take place both in the NCSC for Startups HQ in Cheltenham and remotely. 

Chris Ensor, NCSC deputy director for cyber growth, commented, “The UK has a thriving cybersecurity industry, and I’m excited to get to work with our first five companies and bring their innovations to life.

“Finding great ideas that can help protect all areas of society is a key part of our mission, and we look forward to collaborating with more startups as the program rolls on.”

Saj Huq, director of innovation at Plexal, said:, “We’re excited to welcome the first innovators to NCSC For Startups. The response to our call for applications has been phenomenal, and we’re looking forward to bringing on more startups throughout 2021 in response to specific challenges and technology needs in the cybersecurity market.

“The NCSC understands the UK’s cybersecurity challenges better than anyone, and the opportunity for innovative startups to benefit from its world-class insight and expertise is unique. Combined with Plexal’s extensive track record in supporting startups to become market leaders, NCSC For Startups will help companies address some of the most challenging security problems facing the government, businesses and society now and in the future.”

Further information on the program and how to apply can be found here.