The latest class of nonprofit Tampa Bay Wave's cybersecurity-focused accelerator program is here and ready to hack the market.
Tampa Bay Wave announced the 16 new members who will spend the next three months learning and networking. The members have extensive backgrounds across the tech industry and hail from an array of countries. One of the 16 startups is operating in stealth and not listed here.
"Top to bottom, they are companies solving real problems led by world-class founders, and we are proud to have them joining the Tampa Bay Wave portfolio," Richard Munassi, a Tampa Bay Wave managing director said in a prepared statement.
These selected founders have backgrounds touching Google, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Intel, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Marine Corps, Intuit, Tech Data, PwC, Jabil, Accenture, Ernst & Young, Raytheon and Sony.
The cyber tech program is funded and supported in part by cyber firms A-LIGN and KnowBe4, as well as companies like EY, Bank of America, Cyber Florida, Digital Hands, 360 Advanced and the University of South Florida's Muma College of Business.
Here are the latest additions to the program:
Amagna
Located: Tampa
Amagna is an early-stage cyber services company run by Vadim Hiekin, a graduate of Cornell University and Stanford University. He was CEO and chief architect of information technology services company Vimro LLC for more than 20 years.
Andes Intelligence
Located: Santiago, Chile
Andes is a security and intelligence services company run by Chilean resident Bruno Chevecich.
Blueteam
Located: Bellevue, Washington
Feynman Liang founded Blueteam in December 2022. He was previously a research scientist at Facebook and holds degrees from Amherst College, Dartmouth College, the University of Cambridge and the University of California.
Blueteam seeks to help security leaders adopt generative AI models and software services safely, according to its LinkedIn.
Cyberdefense.AI
Located: Montreal, Canada
Stanford University graduate Mickael Nadeau founded Cyberdefense AI in 2020 and has been growing the startup since. The company seeks to translate and help app development for companies looking to use artificial intelligence.
CyDeploy
Located: Baltimore
CyDeploy sells software to help businesses and government agencies adopt security operations. Tina Williams-Koroma, a cybersecurity adjunct instructor at the University of Baltimore and entrepreneur, founded the startup in 2020.
Empower Equity Inc
Located: Ithaca, New York
Derek LaClair founded Empower Equity, also known as EMPEQ, in 2016. The company wants to sell software that reduces the time spent on energy assessments.
Essert
Located: Santa Clara, California
Essert Inc. was founded in 2022 by D.V. Subramanyam Dronamraju. The company's software serves to streamline compliance regulation processes for companies.
Forward Security
Located: Vancouver, Canada
Farshad Abasi founded Forward Security in 2018 to sell software that helps companies with security for application, developer and cloud.
Gray Wolf
Located: Fredericton, Canada
CEO and co-founder Matthew Sampson founded Gray Wolf Analytics in 2020. The company is a blockchain intelligence company that seeks to provide security services for companies.
GuardianSat
Located: Yulee
CEO and co-founder Chris Rohe has been the working CEO of GuardianSat LLC since 2018. The company is an aerospace asset protection and software company. It sells satellite operations and protection.
Hackrocks
Located: Madrid, Spain
Hackrocks is a cybersecurity training platform that was founded in 2020 by Enrique Serrano Aparicio.
Hyperglade
Located: Wilmington, Delaware
Lakshan De Silva, a graduate of Stony Brook University, is the co-founder of Hyperglade. The company is a blockchain management software company.
Karambit.AI
Located: Annandale, Virginia
Andrew Hendela and Eric Lee, graduates of Carnegie Melon University, co-founded Karambit.AI in 2021 to sell software that protects against supply chain attacks.
Securily
Located: Boca Raton
Orit Benzaquen Cohen, a podcaster and entrepreneur, founded Securily in 2022. The company is an IT consulting company for vendor questionnaires.
Whiteswan
Located: San Mateo, California
Vinay Mamidi, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, founded the company in March 2023. The company sells an attack prevention cybersecurity platform for applications and cloud work.
