Innovate UK cyber startup programme gets £10m funding booster

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has committed to extending the Innovate UK-backed Cyber Security Academic Startup Accelerator Programme (CyberASAP) putting an additional £10m of funding behind the project.

Since its establishment in 2017, CyberASAP has helped create multiple new British cyber security companies, commercialised breakthrough security technologies, led to several high-profile acquisitions, and raised approximately £47.4m in funding – 68% of that figure from private backers.

The programme was set up to bridge the gap between academia and industry and assist in turning newly-researched cyber technologies into commercially viable products. To date, it has supported academics at 80 institutions in the UK in moving beyond their research and into the market, helping tackle pressing challenges around cyber defence, artificial intelligence (AI), digital education, edtech, quantum, and workforce development, among other things.

“CyberASAP shows what’s possible when publicly funded research is matched with the right commercial support. Over nine years, the programme has helped academics from across the UK turn ideas into real-world impact … delivering a near four-to-one return on public funding. It’s a powerful example of how we build capability, resilience and growth in the UK’s cyber security ecosystem,” said Emma Fadlon, co-director of CyberASAP at Innovate UK Business Connect.

“The UK’s academic community has had an incredible impact on computing, cryptography, and cyber security stretching back 100 years. The CyberASAP programme now equips our brilliant academics with the best possible support to convert inventions and breakthroughs into scaled companies that can make businesses and citizens safer in the AI era,” added Dave Palmer, general partner at Ten Eleven Ventures, a specialist in venture capital funding for the security sector, which has previously backed multiple CyberASAP projects.

This year’s cohort of 14 finalists will showcase their innovative technology, alongside an alumni showcase, at the CyberASAP Demo Day on Wednesday 25 February. This year, some of the projects on display address issues such as child protection, money laundering, privacy, quantum security and ransomware.

PingChen Lin, co-Founder and CEO of CybPass, a University of Sheffield spin-out that is working to address security and compliance assurance for AI systems in high-risk, regulated industries, will be participating in the alumni sessions this week.

“Returning to Demo Day feels deeply meaningful, a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come, and to proudly showcase the expanded vision we’re now bringing to market,” he said.

Lin said the CyberASAP programme had played a pivotal role in the young firm’s journey.

“[It helped] us leap from academic research into a company ready to solve real-world problems. It challenged our thinking, sharpened our focus on customers and regulation, and gave us the conviction to build CybPass into an investable cyber security venture tackling urgent AI assurance challenges,” he explained.