Turning research into resilience - 26 Cyber solutions move ahead in CyberASAP year 9

Funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), and delivered by Innovate UK, the Cybersecurity Academic Startup Accelerator Programme (CyberASAP) has worked for nearly a decade to support the development and commercialisation of cyber security innovations from universities across the UK.

This year we were positively overwhelmed by the sheer interest in CyberASAP. Receiving so many applications in such a short time, it is inspiring to see such promising projects from around the UK poised for their journey to commercialisation.

–Robin Kennedy, Co-Director of CyberASAP at Innovate UK

This established programme has seen the formation of 36 startups, securing over £43 million in further funding. CyberASAP plays a critical role in keeping the UK at the forefront of cybersecurity innovation, bringing together government, investor, and industry support to channel academic excellence into market-shaping technologies of the future.

CyberASAP is delivered across two phases:

Phase 1: encompassing the creation of a value proposition and its validation in the market, followed by

Phase 2: providing funding for the development of a Proof of Concept, which is critical for the projects’ commercialisation success.

With nearly 70 applications received, 26 of the most promising projects were selected to join the value proposition phase at the start of April. Half of the cohort have joined through the general strand, with the other half coming from the challenge-led strand.

The challenge-led strand was comprised of the following themes:

• National and emergency service infrastructure security such as energy and energy networks, transport, and telecoms
• Harms pertaining to the metaverse, AI model security, ransomware, and quantum technologies
• Operational and supply chain resilience consisting of manufacturing, agriculture, and public sector, including local government and healthcare

We hope you share our enthusiasm as we see these projects progress on your journeys to commercialisation.

List of all Year 9 teams that started the programme

Dynamic security for industrial control systems powered by physics-informed moving target defence
Anglia Ruskin University & Cardiff University

Q-Safe: Quantum-Secure Messaging and File-Sharing Application
Aston University

AISA (AI Security and Assurance): Ensuring real-time threat detection and integrity in AI systems
Aston University

CipherGrit: Real-time ransomware detection system using transfer-learning
Cardiff University & University of Sheffield

AI-Driven Semi-Automated Threat Analysis and Risk Assessment for automotive cybersecurity (AutoTARA)
Coventry University

PrivacyEye: Controlling harmful multimedia sharing among children
De Montfort University

RingCryption: Scalable and cooler-free single-photon sources for quantum-secure communication at telecoms wavelengths
Lancaster University

EXIRAI: Evidence Extraction for Incident Response through Generative and Agentic AI
London Metropolitan University

Mitigating AI Risks: Enhancing large language model safety in robot control
Newcastle University

MediVault: A privacy-preserving data collaboration platform for healthcare
Teesside University

GUARD: Generated Unauthentic Ad Recognition & Detection
Teesside University

Qnergy-Sec: Quantum-resilient security and authentication layer for critical energy infrastructure
Teesside University

IoT driven cybersecurity framework for intrusion detection in the internet of drones
Ulster University

Identifying money laundering on the blockchain
University of Birmingham

SPITE – Secure Protection for IoT and Trusted Edges
University of Lancashire

Sparc: Secure Platform for Authenticated and Reliable data exchange in Connected vehicles
University Of East Anglia & University of Essex

AI Safety Platform: Generative ai and cybersecurity training saa s for schools and families
University of East London

AssetGuard+: AI driven asset criticality classification with generative ai, automated risk assessment, and privacy-preserving analytics
University of East London

Edinburgh Decentralisation Index (EDI) spin-out
University of Edinburgh

Threat detection in xr using semanticand behavioral data
University of Greenwich

LockNest: The ultimate fortress for threat containment and cyber protection
University of Portsmouth

DIDShield: A privacy-centric approach to digital wallet security
University of Sheffield

SecureCall: A caller authentication and encrypted communication solution
University of Sheffield & Birmingham City University

AI-SAFE – Artificial Intelligence Shield Against Fraudulent Exploits
University of West London

Cyber-R: Securing businesses through generative ai-based adaptive cyber resilience service
University of Wolverhampton

SoC4SMEs: Delivering open-source security operations center (so c) solutions as a service to strengthen cybersecurity for sm es in the uk
University of Wolverhampton

To find out more visit the CyberASAP programme page at the link below.

If you would like to be kept informed about the programme, whether as an investor, industrial supporter or academic participant, please register your interest.