After an exciting showcase of European cybersecurity innovation at its Cyber Investor Days competition in The Hague on 5 October, the European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO) is delighted to announce the selection of CDeX PSA and INLYSE as the latest nominees for the ECSO STARtup Award 2024. These exceptional nominees have emerged as two of Europe’s most promising cybersecurity start-ups amidst a distinguished group of 10 top-tier European cybersecurity start-ups, meticulously chosen from  numerous applications spanning  from across Europe.

For the second consecutive year, ECSO’s Cyber Investor Days returned to The Hague, attracting cybersecurity start-ups from across Europe. This year’s competition, organised together with the Women4Cyber Foundation, the Municipality of The Hague, InnovationQuarter (IQ), TIIN Capital, Security Delta (HSD) and KPN Ventures, witnessed 10 promising European cybersecurity start-ups whose aim is to elevate their ventures to the next level. The event grants these start-ups a unique opportunity to pitch their companies directly to potential investors and market players, along with a Judging Panel comprised of experts in investment and entrepreneurship.

Following an intense competition of pitches, marked by European innovation and resilience, the Judging Panel, including investment and entrepreneurship experts Jeroen Schipper (CISO, Gemeente Den Haag), Alex Bos (Portfolio Manager, InnovationQuarter), Emmarique Delahaije (Investment Manager, KPN Ventures), Willy Mannheims (Managing Partner, eCAPITAL & Chair of ECSO Work Stream on Cybersecurity Investments), Régis Cezanave (General Manager Europe, S2 Grupo), and Reinout van der Meulen (Non-Executive Director, Awen Collective & TIIN Capital Representative), faced the challenging task of evaluating each pitch.

After thorough deliberation, two fortunate start-ups have been selected  to proceed as nominees for the highly anticipated ECSO STARtup Award 2024. The grand finale of this European award is scheduled to take place in Germany in early 2024.

ECSO proudly presents the two outstanding nominees: CDeX PSA (Cyber Defence eXercise Platform) and INLYSE.

“It was terrific to be part of this ECSO event hosted by the Municipality of The Hague and their partners. The competition was strong, so we’re extra excited to come out on top and go to the finals in Bochum next year. We are looking forward to it!”

Said Dr. Bartek Ziółkowski, Co-founder & CEO of CDex PSA.

“It is a great honor to be nominated as a finalist for the ECSO STARtup Award next year. I am proud that we could convince the jury about the uniqueness of our solution and that we significantly contribute to the goal of building a sovereign digital Europe by developing and delivering disruptive technologies out of Europe.”

Said Walter Schumann, CEO of INLYSE.

ECSO extends its heartfelt congratulations to these remarkable start-ups on their achievements and contributions to the European cybersecurity ecosystem, and eagerly anticipates the impact that their innovative solutions will have on shaping the future of European cybersecurity. In the award finals, CDex PSA and INLYSE will be competing alongside fellow outstanding nominees from previous Cyber Investor Days held throughout 2023: ANOZR WAY, Build38, CyCommSec, Dust Mobile, Modino.io, ONEKEY, OutKept, and Seculyze. More updates on the ECSO STARtup Award 2024 will follow in the months to come.