UK's cyber security startup incubator announces new batch of hopefuls

A second group of UK technology startups has been selected to join the UK's cyber security incubator programme in a bid to help fast-track companies capable of addressing critical problems within the nation's supply and security sectors.

The London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement (LORCA), which opened in June 2018 with 13.5m of funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), was created to incubate groups of startups and support their development, and has already incorporated nine companies as part of the initiative.

LORCA aims to use government funding to eventually support 72 promising security startups, announcing the selected companies in stages. Its second list of cohorts has been picked to tackle two specific cyber security challenges: user-centric security and securing supply chains.

The organisation will aid the latest 11 startups with tech support, professional services, business advice and other forms of mentorship at Here East's Plexal tech campus in east London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Of the 11 chosen, nine have been announced: CyNation, RazorSecure, Bob's Business, Crypto Quantique, OutThink, Distributed Management Systems, ObjectTech, Xanadata and Cyber Smart.

"The engagement from industry in the development and selection process ensures that the cohort has clear markets to scale into and is addressing the cyber challenges that will make the most difference to industry," said Lydia Ragoonanan, the director, LORCA.

"Following on from the success of the first cohort, we look forward to seeing these 11 companies grow and thrive."

It's hoped that by nurturing companies the government will be able to address the UK's security concerns directly, rather than attempting to source services and products from the general market.

Xanadata, which is based in West London, allows customers to rapidly hunt for millions of cyber threats on any network in real time and to enable rapid historic assessment, processing several months of activity in a matter of minutes.

Another of the cohorts, Crypto Quantique, is developing a quantum driven secure chip and a security platform that makes end-to-end security seamless and easy-to-implement for connected devices.

For training and education, Bob's Business deals with what it calls the 'human' side of cyber security and provides training programs to companies looking to educate their employees on the latest trends in cyber security.

"Supporting these businesses through all stages of their growth will help make the UK the safest place to be online and ensure that through the government's modern Industrial Strategy the UK maintains its position as a world leader in cybersecurity," said Minister for Digital Margot James.