Cyber London, Europe’s first dedicated cyber security start-up accelerator and incubator, is announcing the start of its second programme to support the brightest new European security companies. Cyber London fosters a thriving home-grown community of cyber security companies in the heart of London and the first programme was successfully completed between April and July 2015.
Cyber London’s cyber security accelerator consists of a 14-week programme where entrepreneurial teams with innovative business ideas are provided access to professional training and guidance from an accomplished network of mentors and investors. At the end of this programme, the companies will present their businesses to potential customers, investors and partners at an in-house Demo Day. In addition to training, mentorship and fully-furnished office space, the teams selected to participate in the programme will receive a £15,000 investment in their businesses in return for 3% equity.
Applications for the next Cyber London programme open today on the f6s.com portal at www.f6s.com/cyberlondon2cylon-winter2015, with candidate start-up and growth-stage companies from across Europe being encouraged to seek selection. Participants may include the very earliest stage teams, through to established companies seeking support as they seek to accelerate development and reach new customers and markets. Entrepreneurs working on any technology with security applications and with the ambition to build a successful business are encouraged to apply.
Of the eight companies that graduated from Cyber London’s first programme, all but one has been fast-tracked onto the next stage of their growth path.
Chris Wallis, co-founder of http://Intruder.io which has already graduated from Cyber London, commented: ‘CyLon was the best possible start we could have had for our company. Intruder was founded shortly before the accelerator began, and CyLon gave us both the platform and the rocket fuel we needed to launch our business. From the network of people we were introduced to, to the mentoring and review sessions which kept us on track and pushing forwards, the whole experience taught us more than we would have learned from years of going it alone. Also, the opportunities that have opened up through being involved with the accelerator have been mind blowing.’
Alex van Someren of Amadeus Capital Partners, a co-founder of Cyber London, said: ‘The success of the first programme has proven the value that can be derived from bringing together the brightest new start-ups in a hothouse environment and plying them with the skills, knowledge and contacts that they need to get to the next stage of their evolution. We’ve learned a lot from the first programme and are keen to attract the same high level of applicants to the next one.’
About the Cyber London programme
The Cyber London accelerator and incubator combines intensive collaboration, professional training and mentorship, drawing upon the expertise of seasoned entrepreneurs, academic cyber security researchers, government officials and senior executives of customer organisations.
Cyber London accepts applications from entrepreneurial teams with innovative business ideas in the broad field of information and communications, aka ‘cyber’, security.
Cyber London was established in January 2015; its first programme concluded in July 2015, with six startups and two companies-in-residence pitching to a Demo Day audience of more than 120 investors, companies, and public sector bodies at the end of a 14 week curriculum.
About Cyber London Advisory Board
To support the founders and programme management team, the Cyber London Advisory Board brings diverse expertise and helps to define the strategy and content of the programme. Its members currently include:
- Sir Iain Lobban, previously Director of GCHQ until November 2014, is the Chair of the Advisory Board.
- Eileen Burbidge OBE is an investing Partner in Venture Capital firm Passion Capital.
- Jon Bradford, former MD of Techstars London, co-founder of Ignite & f6s.com, and an advisor on entrepreneurship and business acceleration.
About Cyber London Sponsors and Partners
The Cyber London sponsors, who provide financial support, and partners who provide in-kind support to the participating teams, are as follows:
Amadeus Capital Partners has, since 1997, established a reputation as one of Europe’s leading technology investors. Since its inception, the firm has raised over £600m for investment and backed more than 90 companies in communications technology, cleantech, medtech, financial services, software, digital media and e-commerce, many of which sell into global markets. Major businesses built by Amadeus include CSR (LSE:CSR), the leading producer of single chip Bluetooth radios for short range connections; Solexa, the developer of next generation genetic analysis systems, merged into Illumina (ILMN) to create the world-leader in gene-sequencing technology; and Transmode (ST:TRMO), an optical networking solutions business.
Epsilon Advisory Partners is a strategic advisory firm, based in London. Epsilon works with a select group of outstanding technology companies to help grow their business and expand internationally through innovative commercial, intellectual and social partnerships.
Winton is an institutional investment management company specialising in mathematical analysis of financial time series and portfolios. With offices in London, Hong Kong, New York, Oxford, Sydney and Zurich, Winton has around 400 employees and in excess of $30 billion dollars under management.
About Cyber London Founders
Cyber London was founded through the collaboration of an experienced team of cyber security practitioners, entrepreneurship and public policy experts, and professional investors.
- Alex van Someren is Managing Partner, Early Stage Funds at venture capital firm Amadeus Capital Partners. He has been a member of the Royal Society Cyber Security Research Steering Group, an expert panel member for the Government Chief Scientific Advisor’s report on the Internet of Things, and has advised the Cabinet Office on commercialisation of UK National Security assets. Previously, Alex co-founded UK cryptography company nCipher plc, which was acquired by Thales SA in 2008. Alex was appointed an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge in 2005.
- Jonathan Luff and Grace Cassy are co-founders of Epsilon Advisory Partners, sharing 25 years of foreign, security and innovation policy experience in the UK Government, including at No.10 Downing Street. Epsilon works with leading technology companies to grow their business and expand internationally through innovative commercial, intellectual and social partnerships.
