First CyberBoost Catalyse startup cohort named

A group of 10 cyber security startups hailing from the UK, India, Singapore and the US have been named as the first cohort of companies selected for the recently launched CyberBoost Catalyse programme, a collaboration between London-based Plexal and the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The group represents a diverse mix of seed to Series-B funded companies, and will receive tailored support to fast-track their growth in areas such as securing more cash, building overseas networks and developing appropriate go-to-market strategies for such locations.

The six-month programme will be run in Singapore out of the CyberSG Talent, Innovation and Growth (TIG) Collaboration Centre – a joint initiative between the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) and NUS. It will be delivered both in-person and remotely, although all the startups involved will have the opportunity to attend and showcase their services at Singapore International Cyber Week in October, and the GovWare Conference and Exhibition, also in October.

“Having attended the official launch of the CyberSG TIG Centre in July, we’re thrilled to move to the next phase of our CyberBoost,” said Plexal chief commercial officer and head of innovation Saj Huq.

“At Plexal we understand that harnessing collaborative innovation can solve global challenges – but this requires mutual alignment,” he said. “Therefore, it’s a pleasure working alongside CSA and NUS, two partners that understand the importance of breaking down international barriers and accelerating technologies. 

“Singapore is Asia’s leading smart city and the country boasts the world’s most competitive economy. Building on this, Plexal, together with CSA and NUS, are poised to support startups tapping into Singapore’s dynamic market, as well as broader opportunities across Asia Pacific and beyond.” 

The first of two UK businesses taking part is CyberCyte, founded by entrepreneur Necati Ertugu, who originally hails from Turkey. It’s an artificial intelligence (AI)-baked risk and continuous threat exposure management platform designed to identify, assess and prioritise risk factors, giving users better visibility into their risk profiles and automating their responses to various issues, whether those arise from threat actors and cyber criminals, vulnerabilities, or misconfiguration and other user errors.

Having built up a profile in the UK, Ertugu hopes to take the business into several Asian markets, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, as well as the Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, that comprise the Gulf Cooperation Council group.

The second firm is SQR, based on the Isle of Man and headed by Shelley Langan-Newton, a former teacher who at one time also worked for satellite comms firm BlueWave, famously headed by a candidate on The Apprentice.

SQR is an identity verification platform that hopes to revolutionise electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) compliance management practice, and online and in-person identity verification. Langan-Newton hopes to explore growth in both Singapore and the UK, and is focusing on the maritime and financial services sectors.

The other organisations selected are Antarex Cyber from Singapore, an MSSP specialising in ISP network protection; Athenian Tech from India, an AI threat detection and data protection specialist; Cloudsine from Singapore, which deals in web and internet of things security, with a particular focus on critical national infrastructure; InsiderSecurity from Singapore, a security software-as-a-service platform; Protos Labs from Singapore, a risk analytics platform, pQCee from Singapore, specialising in defending against future quantum threats; Scantist from Singapore, a code analysis platform for software bill of material verification in application supply chains; and finally, VulnCheck from the US, a real-time exploit and vulnerability intelligence company.

“NUS Enterprise is dedicated to fostering a vibrant innovation and startup ecosystem that supports and nurtures startup growth across various industry sectors,” said Benjamin Tee, vice-president for ecosystem building at NUS Enterprise.

“The newly launched CyberBoost Catalyse programme at the CyberSG TIG centre further strengthens our commitment towards accelerating the development of a diverse international community of cyber security startups.

“As Singapore becomes a global hub for cyber security innovation, such a programme plays a vital role to nurture the next generation of cyber security leaders and technologies,” he said.