SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — RSA Convention™, the world’s main cybersecurity conferences and expositions, as we speak introduced that beginning in April 2025, the Prime 10 Finalists within the RSAC Innovation Sandbox (ISB) contest will obtain financing to assist them additional speed up innovation to battle the subsequent era of cybersecurity threats. The funding program will present these startups with further capital to ship options that assist organizations defend towards the rising quantity and complexity of cybersecurity assaults.
The RSAC™ ISB contest, celebrating its twentieth anniversary in 2025, has develop into the world’s premier showcase for the cybersecurity startup group. A few of the most profitable cybersecurity innovators have competed within the RSAC ISB contest as a way to spotlight their game-changing concepts which have disrupted the cybersecurity {industry}. The competition has grown to obtain roughly 150 candidates yearly, forming an necessary supply of innovation and ideation that has been important in addressing ever-changing cybersecurity challenges. Greater than 750 traders, cybersecurity leaders, entrepreneurs and members of the media be a part of the packed viewers to look at the ISB occasion stay.
The RSAC ISB contest has develop into a preeminent platform inside the cybersecurity group, offering elevated visibility and consciousness to the Prime 10 Finalists every year. For the reason that RSAC ISB contest’s inception, corporations named as Prime 10 Finalists have collectively raised over $16.4 billion* in investments and been concerned in over 90 merger and acquisition transactions. Annually, a panel of unbiased judges selects the Prime 10 Finalists after reviewing the candidates’ submissions. At RSA Convention in San Francisco, every Prime 10 Finalist presents an summary of their enterprise, and a winner is chosen by an unbiased panel of judges drawn from the cybersecurity group. Beginning in 2025, the Prime 10 Finalists will every obtain a $5 million uncapped Easy Settlement for Future Fairness (SAFE) funding, supplied by associates of Crosspoint Capital Companions.
“Attackers are continuously adapting and altering their tradecraft. Steady innovation from cybersecurity startups is important to international cyber protection,” mentioned Dr. Hugh Thompson, Govt Chairman and long-serving program chair of RSA Convention, and Managing Accomplice of Crosspoint Capital Companions. “Traditionally, the RSAC Innovation Sandbox competitors has anointed winners in cybersecurity lengthy earlier than they turned winners within the market. We’re excited to introduce simplified, founder-friendly financing for the businesses chosen by the unbiased and impartial technique of the RSAC Innovation Sandbox to additional gasoline cybersecurity innovation.”
For a lot of industry-leading cybersecurity corporations, the ISB platform has been an necessary a part of their journey. “When Wiz participated within the RSAC Innovation Sandbox contest in 2021, we had been a younger firm in an rising cybersecurity class,” mentioned Anthony Belfiore, Chief Safety and Technique Officer of Wiz. “The publicity that we obtained from the ISB platform and RSA Convention helped us entice extra clients earlier in our journey. This was extraordinarily useful for us. This new funding program is a game-changer.”
The funding program is delivered as an uncapped SAFE, which gives an instantaneous capital infusion whereas sustaining future fundraising flexibility. “Put up Sequence A funding, subsequent rounds have trended to be bigger with a number of traders. A valued safety investor like Crosspoint Capital with the deep operational expertise of their founding companions can be welcomed into the cap desk,” mentioned Theresia Gouw, co-founding companion, Acrew Capital.
Along with the funding capital, RSAC can be creating a brand new discussion board, the RSAC Founders Circle, to offer previous and current ISB Prime 10 Finalists with further publicity, teaching, mentorship, and connections with the CISO group. This initiative may even function a robust alumni community for these distinguished entrepreneurs. A number of ISB finalists have gone on to develop into standalone public corporations whereas others develop into enticing acquisitions for platform property. These earlier Prime 10 Finalists embody main cybersecurity innovators resembling: Wiz, Imperva, SentinelOne, Talon Cyber Safety, Phantom Cyber, and Hidden Layer.
Extra particulars on the RSAC ISB submission course of for qualifying candidates will likely be made obtainable in January 2025.
RSAC’s Dedication to the Cybersecurity Neighborhood
RSAC has a heritage of supporting necessary investments for the group by means of former and current packages, together with the RSAC Innovation Sandbox, RSAC Safety Scholar, youngster on-line security, School Day, group philanthropic actions in the course of the Convention and Convention scholarships to underrepresented communities by means of its huge community of companions. A portion of the returns obtained from the investments made within the Prime 10 Finalists will likely be utilized by RSAC to help the cybersecurity group.
*Signifies newest numbers in keeping with Crunchbase
Extra Quotes:
Nasrin Rezai, SVP and Chief Info Safety Officer, Verizon – RSAC Innovation Sandbox Decide
“CISOs like me who’re continuously making an attempt to type by means of the barrage of latest cybersecurity entrants are all the time on the lookout for a sign on who to spend time with and which options to strive,” mentioned Nasrin Rezai, SVP and Chief Info Safety Officer, Verizon and returning ISB choose. “The rigorous technique of choosing these Prime 10 Finalists creates a sign to the market of who to concentrate to.”
Dean Sysman, Co-Founder and CEO, Axonius – RSAC 2019 Innovation Sandbox Winner
“Among the finest stuff you wish to obtain as a startup within the cybersecurity world is to be part of the RSAC Innovation Sandbox contest,” mentioned Dean Sysman, Co-Founder and CEO, Axonius. “RSA Convention is an important place the place cybersecurity enterprise, concepts, and merchandise get launched, talked about, and reviewed. The popularity and validation that successful ISB gives coming from that esteemed judging panel was instrumental in individuals trusting that we’d comply with by means of in what we promised we’d do for them. There may be nothing to lose by making use of. Successful it units you aside in a really differentiated and distinctive means whereas pushing the {industry} to have a look at you in a brand new mild.”
Rehan Jalil, CEO, Securiti AI – RSAC 2020 Innovation Sandbox Winner
“Making it into the RSAC ISB Prime 10 after which successful the competition sends a really robust sign to not solely the enterprise capitalists however the {industry} at giant. The panel of judges for the ISB competitors could be very various, they usually every consider startups with a special lens, which finally helps you as an organization be judged extra holistically. Successful ISB put us on the map, boosting our model and rising buyer engagement. Whether or not you increase cash earlier than the competition or after, you get group curiosity in doubtlessly making a bounce to the subsequent stage when you make it into the Prime 10,” mentioned Rehan Jalil, CEO of Securiti AI, RSAC 2020 Innovation Sandbox Winner.
Oliver Friedrichs, Founder and CEO, Pangea and Founder and CEO, Phantom Cyber – RSAC 2023 Innovation Sandbox Finalist and RSAC 2016 Innovation Sandbox Winner
“Being a Finalist places you on the map and separates you from the pack,” mentioned Oliver Friedrichs, Founder and CEO of Pangea, RSA Convention 2023 Innovation Sandbox Finalist and Founder and CEO of Phantom Cyber, RSAC 2016 Innovation Sandbox Winner. “For those who’re a brand new, comparatively unknown entity, it is a good way to launch your organization on the large stage. The eye you get being a Prime 10 Finalist attracts enterprise capitalists, strategic traders, and enterprise clients who’re all making an attempt to grasp what these new corporations are doing and the way they might help me. This new funding program for the Prime 10 Finalists is a testomony to the standard and potential of those corporations. This added funding gives a good better long-term monetary impression for these startups and additional extends their runway.”
Dave Chen, co-head of World Know-how Funding Banking at Morgan Stanley – RSAC Innovation Sandbox Decide
“A number of of the businesses which have been chosen to the ISB Prime 10 have gone on to develop into juggernauts in cybersecurity. The Innovation Sandbox competitors is the place a number of the largest tales in cybersecurity start,” mentioned Dave Chen, co-head of World Know-how Funding Banking at Morgan Stanley. “I am honored to be a choose for the 2025 contest.”
Ben Colman, Co-Founder and CEO, Actuality Defender – RSAC 2024 Innovation Sandbox Winner
“For over a 12 months, we had board members, traders, and shoppers encourage us to use to the Innovation Sandbox contest,” mentioned Ben Colman, Co-Founder and CEO of Actuality Defender and winner of the RSA Convention 2024 Innovation Sandbox contest. “We utilized with no expectations, made it to the Prime 10, and rapidly realized our fellow Finalists had been virtually all pure play cybersecurity corporations — one thing we thought was our drawback as a cybersecurity firm targeted on AI, however finally proved to be why we received. Awarding future winners with an uncapped SAFE observe now makes making use of to RSAC Innovation Sandbox a really game-changing proposition.”
Paul Kocher, Impartial Researcher, Investor and Marconi Prize winner – RSAC Innovation Sandbox Decide
“The Innovation Sandbox contest is a improbable occasion and terrific driver for bringing new expertise to market — and for entrepreneurs it is a chance to current to the perfect viewers,” mentioned Paul Kocher, RSAC ISB Decide, Investor, Impartial Researcher and Marconi Prize winner. “I’ve served as a choose for many of the contest’s 20 years, and have seen first hand the way it raises Finalists’ profiles, serving to start-ups construct enthusiasm with clients, traders, and new hires. Though the robust subject of candidates makes the choice course of difficult, I admire the Convention and judges’ dedication to making sure the neutrality and independence of the analysis and choice course of.”
About RSA Convention
RSA Convention™ is the premier sequence of worldwide occasions and year-round studying for the cybersecurity group. RSAC is the place the safety {industry} converges to debate present and future issues and have entry to the specialists, unbiased content material, and concepts that assist allow people and corporations advance their cybersecurity posture and construct stronger and smarter groups. Each in-person and on-line, RSAC brings the cybersecurity {industry} collectively and empowers the collective “we” to face towards cyberthreats world wide. RSAC is the last word market for the most recent applied sciences and hands-on instructional alternatives that assist {industry} professionals uncover methods to make their corporations safer whereas showcasing probably the most enterprising, influential, and thought-provoking thinkers and leaders in cybersecurity as we speak. For probably the most up-to-date information pertaining to the cybersecurity {industry} go to www.rsaconference.com. The place the world talks safety.