Innovation Cybersecurity Ecosystem at BLOCK71 (ICE71) has officially unveiled the region's next generation of cybersecurity start-ups at its second ICE71 Accelerate Demo Day in Singapore.
Coming from Singapore, India, Turkey, Vietnam, the UK, and the US, the latest cohort of start-ups were chosen to participate in the three-month ICE71 Accelerate programme, supporting the development and acceleration of their growth.
The programme culminated in Demo Day, where they pitched to an audience of over 150 investors and cybersecurity leaders, seeking investment and business development opportunities. ICE71 is a partnership between Singtel Innov8, the corporate venture capital arm of the Singtel Group, and NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Edgar Hardless, CEO of Singtel Innov8 said, "Increasingly, enterprises and governments need to work more closely with start-ups to address the frequency, scale, and sophistication of cyber threats globally. By bringing together these promising start-ups and connecting them with leading investors, enterprises and government agencies, we aim to accelerate their growth to the next stage.
"This strengthens Singapore's cybersecurity ecosystem and positions the country as the leading regional cybersecurity hub. This also creates a conducive environment for the roll-out of new and innovative technologies which can power Singapore's Smart Nation goals."
The latest batch of cybersecurity start-ups builds on the success already achieved by the start-ups from ICE71 Accelerate's first cohort unveiled in October 2018, of which two have already raised additional funding and expanded their operations internationally, while three are in discussions to secure further funding.
Professor Freddy Boey, Deputy President (Innovation and Enterprise) of NUS said, "Cybersecurity is among the key pillars supporting Singapore's Smart Nation ambitions. It is therefore crucial for our people, businesses and enterprises to be well protected in today's digital environment. The key to supporting the nation's ambitions lies in driving cybersecurity innovation and encouraging more enterprising cybersecurity entrepreneurs and start-ups to make Singapore their home."
"NUS welcomes the second cohort of start-ups under ICE71 Accelerate. We are heartened by the
progress and achievements of the programme in the past year and look forward to attracting more cybersecurity entrepreneurs and start-ups from across the region" added Prof Boey.
ICE71 aspires to attract the best global cybersecurity talent and foster cybersecurity innovation in Asia. Supported by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) and corporate partners such as Cisco, ICE71 aim to strengthen Singapore's growing cybersecurity ecosystem by attracting and developing competencies and new technologies in the region. ICE71 partners with CyLon, which delivers the ICE71 Accelerate programme and brings to the table a wealth of global experience as the leading global cybersecurity accelerator and early stage investor in cybersecurity start-ups.
After Demo Day, ICE71 will continue to guide and support these start-ups through further fundraising, product development and commercial expansion. It will also provide access to community events with ecosystem partners, thought leadership programmes, engagements with enterprises and government entities, and opportunities to present at regional cybersecurity conferences.
ICE71 has three ongoing programmes: ICE71 Inspire, a week-long boot camp for entrepreneurs seeking to conceptualise their ideas and learn about starting their own cybersecurity companies, ICE71 Accelerate, a three-month programme to develop and accelerate the growth of early-stage
cybersecurity start-ups, and ICE71 Scale, a launch pad to help mature cybersecurity start-ups establish themselves and scale in the region. Most importantly, ICE71 develops the cybersecurity ecosystem of start-ups, corporates, government bodies, and institutes of higher learning with community events to create learning, business development and networking opportunities.
ICE71 Accelerate is now officially open to applications for their third cohort. Interested applicants may apply directly via www.ice71.sg.
Start-ups from ICE71 Accelerate's second cohort include:
- 689Cloud: Uses rights management technology to protect, track, and control access rights on externally shared digital documents, preventing data leaks and unauthorised redistribution of confidential data. Its chairman is a serial entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience including successful exits in the technology industry in the US, Japan, and Vietnam.
- Aversafe: Provides a first-line-of-defence against credential fraud. Aversafe's credential issuance and verification network connect employers, individuals and credential issuers together to prevent forgery and counterfeiting of credentials and licenses. It is already in talks with NUS for a proof-of-concept.
- Blue Phish: Provides an online platform to drive cybersecurity awareness and play a part in
reducing the number of cyber-attacks that, 95% of the time, are created due to human error. E-learning modules are customisable and allow clients to align the learning objectives with their organisation's risk policies. Blue Phish is founded by two female entrepreneurs from India. - GuardRails: Makes open-source security tools easily available in GitHub Pull Requests. The
solution has been tuned to keep noise low and only report high-impact and relevant security
issues. Its founder, a professional hacker for the last 15 years, was able to access over 2 million credit card details with only 10 minutes of engagement with one of the largest train operators in the world. - INFRA: Builds automated solutions for assessment and intelligence without the need for security analysts, eliminating human error and maximising reliability. Its founder identified the perpetrators of one of the largest cyber attacks on the Middle East's oil industry.
- KEYLESS: Provides a privacy-first platform for authentication and identity management driven by user-friendly, secure biometrics that makes data privacy and security the rule, not the exception. Its co-founders all met while getting their INSEAD MBA.
- LOKI: Provides cloud-based, single point management cybersecurity and network management services for SMEs using SD-WAN technology in SaaS model. Its Turkish founder learned to code at the age of 10 and, by 21, developed cloud platforms for large MNCs and government institutions.
- oneKIY: Addresses data privacy and security and runs on a decentralised, user-controlled
security system. Coupled with an applications marketplace, users can download relevant apps to take full advantage of their KIY token. It was started by a Singaporean entrepreneur who has over 20 years of experience in hardware cryptographic solutions. - PhishBase: A mail transfer agent, sitting between the organisation and the internet, analysing emails flowing in and out of the system; preventing data loss, quarantining messages and using fuzzy logic to detect bad emails. Its founding team has diverse holdings in telecom services, ocean technologies, gaming/lottery, sport, print media, augmented reality, medical technologies as well as cybersecurity.
- SECONIZE: Enterprise IT risk assessment product that identifies cyber risks and translates to continuous business impact. Its CEO has 20 years of experience at Honeywell, Philips and Cisco and is the holder of three patents.
