PRESS RELEASE

42 startups solving everything from fatigue to semiconductors unite on mission to Grow and Scale across cyber market

The UK’s largest cyber accelerator, Cyber Runway, delivered by Plexal and funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in partnership with Deloitte and the Centre for Secure Information Technologies, has welcomed 42 startups and scaleups to its Grow and Scale streams. Plexal was founded in 2017 as the innovation centre at Here East and is owned by clients of specialist real estate investment advisory company Delancey.

Comprising two separate cohorts, the fresh talent joins an active alumni network of over 300 startups, which has been built in the two years since Cyber Runway launched. The significance of this rapid community expansion shouldn’t be understated, particularly given its breadth of businesses, with 50% of companies are based outside of London and the South East, 50% are female-led and 43% are ethnic minority-led. This aligns with Plexal’s mission of closing the gap between organisations and commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) to increase representation of individuals from diverse backgrounds within organisations, provide them with equal opportunities by meeting their needs and creating inclusive cultures within workspaces.

Designed to address some of the biggest challenges facing cyber security, such as diversity and inclusion and regional representation, the Cyber Runway programme supports the most promising innovators at various stages of growth.

The accelerator’s Grow stream will focus on getting startups to nail their product-market fit, get commercialisation support and lay the foundations for growth, while the Scale stream will help scaleups and high-growth startups blast away any barriers to growth nationally and around the world.

Respective examples of the Grow and Scale stream cohorts include The Zensory, a female-led business that helps reduce alert fatigue, human error and alleviate burnout within security teams, and Optalysys, which has secured over £32m in funding for its innovations in homomorphic encryption that’s led to groundbreaking semiconductor technology to reduce energy consumption, boost processing power and enhance data security.

Further demonstrating the value of community and network, Safetech Innovations expanded its Romanian operation into the UK with a security operations centre in Plexal Stratford, while other cohort members have been involved in additional government-backed programmes such as NCSC For Startups.

The full cohorts for Grow and Scale Stream are listed below:

Grow Stream

· Abri Corporate Services

· Arco Cyber

· Auditee

· Aufgabe Limited

· Commercial Intuition

· Culture Gem

· CXReview

· Cyb-Uranus

· Cyber Alchemy

· Cyber Capital Partners

· Cybercy

· CyberAutonomy

· Enevo Cybersec

· Fezzant

· HoneypotDB

· ITUS Secure Technologies

· Punk Security

· QuoneCyber

· Secure Elements

· Simoc

· Splitsec

· Suments Data

· The Zensory

· vrtue.io

Scale Stream

· Athenian Tech

· Contxt

· eXate

· Foxtrot Technologies

· IDEE

· Lexverify

· Meterian

· Microtech

· OCCAMSEC

· OneFirewall Alliance

· Optalysys

· Prizsm Technologies

· Regulativ.AI

· SafeShark

· Safetech Innovations Global Services

· TELXAI

· Trilateral Research

· Veracity Trust Network

Cohorts from both streams will benefit from:

Virtual and in-person business masterclasses
Mentoring, engineering support from CSIT and access to CSIT’s data and testing centre
Technical product development support
Opportunities to connect with international cyber hubs
Regional events – previously held in locations including Cardiff, Belfast, Yorkshire, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Lancaster, Scarborough and Harwell
Connections to investors and corporates to fuel growth

Along with stream-specific activities, Cyber Runway will also connect the cohorts with investors, security leaders and the government to support them in developing technologies which address commercial needs. These companies will also receive support with becoming more diverse and inclusive.

Saj Huq, CCO and Head of Innovation at Plexal, commented: “In light of evolving threats and the challenges facing our critical national infrastructure, it’s important that we continue to seek new opportunities which leverage the benefits of emerging technologies and address the needs of government and industry at large through close collaboration and partnership. “We’re excited to welcome two cohorts to Cyber Runway’s Grow and Scale streams, helping some of the UK’s most promising young companies to develop their technologies, and in turn strengthen the UK’s digital economy and drive greater cyber resilience.”

-ENDS-

Notes for editors

About Plexal

Plexal is the innovation company solving society's challenges through collaboration with government, startups and industry. The business is closing the gap between organisations – small and large, local and global, private and public – and working towards a common goal: using science and technology to deliver national security and prosperity. It was founded in 2017 as the innovation centre at Here East and is owned by clients of specialist real estate investment advisory company Delancey.

Providing bespoke consultancy services and state-of-the-art workspaces for over 1,000 innovators, Plexal sources the right partners from our ecosystem of 15,000 connections. It supports entrepreneurs, startups and scaleups building emerging technologies and operates across multiple sectors including cyber, healthcare, intelligence and defence, government, public safety, financial services and telecoms.

Expanding on its existing presence in London, Cheltenham and Manchester, Plexal acquired a majority shareholding in Hub8 – the Cheltenham network of co-working spaces for cyber-tech, digital and creative startups and SMEs. This is part of an ongoing mission to build the UK’s most connected cyber ecosystem, with GCHQ’s more than 70-year heritage in Cheltenham.

Plexal delivers projects for key government departments and global tech companies including the National Cyber Security Centre, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Amazon Web Services and IBM. The NCSC For Startups alumni of over 60 companies has collectively raised over £512m and created over 1,600 jobs, while 72 cyber startups that have gone through Plexal’s LORCA accelerators have collectively raised over £300m, generated more than £68m in revenue and hired over 800 people.

Cyber Runway stats – Stream breakdowns from the past two programmes

Grow:

82 startups over two cohorts
52% BAME-led
49% Female-led

Scale:

41 startups over two cohorts
30% BAME-led
60% Female-led

Overall Cyber Runway programme stats

7 cohorts across two years of delivery
300+ startups have gone through the programme
12 national events, 8 more planned
50% of companies are based outside of London and the South East
50% of companies are female led
43% are ethnic minority-led
Cyber Runway events have been held in locations including Cardiff, Belfast, Yorkshire, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Lancaster, Scarborough and Harwell, with more to follow over the next six months