Last Thursday, 3 July, La Harinera became the epicentre of cybersecurity innovation when the Demo Day of the second edition of the Cybersecurity Startup Program took place, an initiative by INCIBE and Startup Valencia with the collaboration of Valencia Innovation Capital.
Over the past three months, ten selected startups have worked intensively to develop disruptive solutions in cybersecurity or to strengthen this area within their business models. The Demo Day was their chance to showcase that effort before a panel of experts, investors, corporates and ecosystem leaders.
Pure talent and vision
The event opened with welcome remarks from Nacho Mas, CEO of Startup Valencia, and Inés García Sierra, business promotion and development specialist at INCIBE.
“Cybersecurity is no longer just a technological challenge but a key pillar for any company’s competitiveness. This programme proves that talent and innovation can turn that challenge into a huge opportunity,” said Nacho Mas.
Next, Anna Lino, head of innovation ecosystem at Startup Valencia, introduced the pitches. Each team had three minutes to present and three minutes for questions—fast, direct and packed with substance.
The ten spotlight startups
The participating startups were: Zaibi, Aiscopia, CMTech, FisioLink, Lab2Market, OctoCypher, Quantum Computing Solutions, Scenia Studio, WAVF and Zencly.
In addition to the pitches, the day featured an inspiring talk on the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship in cybersecurity, with Juan España (CEO of ByteHide Solutions) and Kike Gandia (founder of QuantumSec and creator of the channel @ContandoBits with over 134,000 subscribers).
And the winners were…
After intense deliberation, the jury, composed of experts from INCIBE, Startup Valencia, Valencia Innovation Capital and Ontinet, announced the three winning projects:
OctoCypher took first prize of €5,000, cloud credits from OVHcloud, six months of hot desk at La Harinera, access to the Pitch Stage at VDS 2025 and mentoring with MARS, while Quantum Computing Solutions and WAVF will also pitch on the VDS 2025 stage and receive international pitch training.
All teams also received a free one-year membership to Startup Valencia and five passes to attend VDS 2025, one of Europe’s leading tech events.
The day closed with a networking session that enabled teams to connect with mentors, investors and other ecosystem players. Ideas, contacts and new opportunities underscore one essential fact: the future of cybersecurity is in good hands.
