On Wednesday 6 April, the jury members will select the 3 winners of season 3 of theTech4Trust program at the awards ceremony to be held on the premises of the Swiss Cyber Security Days 2022 in Freiburg, Switzerland. The final event of the accelerator program conceived by the Trust Valley will reward the 3 best startups in cybersecurity and digital trust has chosen among 12 finalists. Four prizes will be awarded by the strategic partners: the State of Vaud, Fortinet, PwC Switzerland, and the Herbert & Audrey Rosenfield Foundation.
This event will be the culmination of an impressive 3rd edition: 30 startups (12 for the first edition and 27 for the second) have indeed completed an intense and unprecedented journey to boost their development. Lennig Pedron, the executive director of the Trust Valley, testifies to the ramp-up of projects: “The success stories speak for themselves. Tech4Trust supports startups when they need it most, which saves them 1 to 3 years in bringing their projects to market. Boosting the financing of startups is an essential part of innovation. The networking of actors and potential investors is increasingly efficient and effective. Before, there were no investors. Now there is a lot of investor interest in this field.”
After an intensive 6-month program (7 Roadshows, 10 workshops, and an all-female panel in the Valais Roadshow), 12 finalist startups were selected by a high-level advisory committee, composed of more than 30 members from governmental and academic institutions as well as captains of industry. The selection was based on detailed criteria (team, products, market and partnerships, finance, sustainability) and the evaluation of performance since the beginning of the program. The prizes to be awarded are valued at approximately CHF 150,000 in cash and in kind.
Two and a half years ago, this high economic impact initiative was conceived by Trust Valley, supported by the Canton of Vaud, academic institutions such as EPFL and UNIL, and leading companies such as Kudelski, Elca, SGS, SICPA, and the GCSP, aimed at promoting and connecting key players in digital trust and cybersecurity, came into being. Tech4Trust is the first digital trust and cybersecurity acceleration program. The only one of its kind in the world, this signature Trust Valley program helps the most promising companies prepare their business for commercialization through top-notch mentoring by captains of industry, strategic support, and training from leading industry partners. (55 mentors, 26 coaches, +10 trainers, +20 speakers)
DuoKey, who won 3rd place last year testifies:
“The Tech4Trust program has been an incredible springboard for our young startup specialized in the field of data encryption in public clouds. We were able to exchange with remarkable coaches and above all benefit from unparalleled visibility. The support of the canton of Vaud and the TrustValley has been a great help to start our developments and market our solutions to our first customers.”
A short insight into the 12 selected finalists
- Hestia.ai: Develops software, infrastructure, and expertise for a digital world that respects users and their data
- kaiosID: Safeguards your products and your brand with the scan of a smartphone.
- Morphotonix: Provides uncopyable security features embedded directly in products, preserving the material purity and providing instant authentication.
- OriginAll: Empowers stakeholders, and above all people, to fully benefit from safe and secured trade and consumption.
- Photocert: Validates the authenticity of pictures and videos and provides valuable image analysis.
- Prodaft: Monitors thousands of incidents and provides actionable insights.
- RKVST (formerly Jitsuin): Unites developers and business users in assuring shared data drives the right critical outcomes.
- Saporo: improves cyber resistance by prioritizing and reducing user and system access risks.
- Smartcockpit: highlights the decision required for business, captures and measures the impact of all decisions made.
- Tune Insight: orchestrates secure collaborations on sensitive or confidential data between multiple organizations for them to extract collective insights.
- Xiphera: designs hardware-based security solutions using standardized cryptographic algorithms.
- Zenpulsar: AI solution dedicated to advancing online integrity.
Prior to the announcement of the laureates, a grand oral will take place, in which the 12 finalists will defend their innovations and explain how they made the most out of the program. The event will be followed by a cocktail.
Season 2 success stories:
- Nym Technologies raised $43 million in 2022.
- YesWeHack raised €16 million in 2021.
- inpher secured a strategic investment from Swisscom Ventures.
- DuoKey signed three of its biggest clients following the Tech4Trust.
Testimonies:
Advisory board, Partner & Sponsor of the Tech4trust Program: There is a large marketplace with a lot of opportunities to develop solutions. We have a unique ecosystem with academic expertise, a successful network of entrepreneurs in the field, an active community of business angels, and institutional VC. This program can serve as a catalyst for all the expertise needed to address the market opportunities and offer solutions from the region. Raphaël Conz, Economic Promotion Manager, Office for Economic Affairs and Innovation (SPEI) at the State of Vaud.