The London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement (LORCA) has announced the 17 scaleups selected to join its fifth cohort of cyber-innovators.
Launched in 2018, LORCA is a government-backed innovation program delivered by Plexal at the London-based technology hub Here East and is supported by Deloitte and the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen’s University Belfast. LORCA’s commercial partners are Lloyds Banking Group, Dell Technologies and Kudelski Security.
LORCA aims to help scale the cyber-innovations industry and acts as a global launch pad for cyber-companies, cultivating links with cyber-hubs and programs from across the UK’s maturing cyber-ecosystem.
LORCA announced an open call in March 2020 for startups with solutions to challenges presented by a connected society, including supply chain security, digital identity and the digital risk associated with an increasingly connected world to apply. The recruitment and selection process was carried out entirely virtually.
The selected members have innovative solutions that relate to identity, IoT, cloud security, autonomous cyber-defense, privacy and more.
The 17 selected companies are:
- AdvSTAR: https://advstar.org
- BlockAPT: https://www.blockapt.com/about-us/
- Breachlock: https://www.breachlock.com
- Capslock: https://www.capslock.ac
- ContextSpace: https://www.contextspace.com
- CyberHive: https://cyberhive.com
- InsurTechnix: https://www.insurtechnix.com
- ITsMine: https://itsmine.io
- MIRACL: https://miracl.com
- Nanotego: http://nanotego.com
- RedHunt Labs: https://redhuntlabs.com
- The CyberFish: https://www.thecyberfish.com
- Truststamp: https://truststamp.ai
- VerifiedWhiteList: https://www.verifiedvisitors.com
- VU: https://www.vusecurity.com
- Zamna: https://zamna.com
- ZeroGuard: https://zeroguard.com
With particular focus on the importance of diversity and inclusion within the cyber-industry, LORCA encouraged applications from under-represented founders in its fifth cohort open call. As such, 18% of its fifth cohort includes scaleups with female founders or CEOs and 18% with leaders from BAME backgrounds.
The year-long program will support the 17 early-stage companies to grow, secure investment, access new markets and participate in overseas trade missions, with the ultimate aim of growing the British cybersecurity industry.
Saj Huq, director, LORCA, said: “The pandemic has accelerated many emerging digital trends, as well as the inevitable risks that accompany them. Cybersecurity challenges that were previously on the horizon have been brought forward as society and our economy becomes more connected, and security more critical than ever. The arrival of our fifth cohort highlights that there is world-leading talent and cutting-edge technology available to address these challenges and enable secure, societal-wide digital transformation.”
Huq added that LORCA intends to continue supporting scaling companies, acting as a catalyst for collaboration between innovators and critical parts of the ecosystem such as investors, industry, academia and government.
Digital infrastructure minister Matt Warman concluded: “This initiative will see some of the brightest minds from across the country benefit from expert advice to turn their creative ideas into practical business tools and develop the cybersecurity technology of tomorrow.”