Kaspersky Labs Launches Online Bootcamp To Eye Security Startups
Context & Ripple Effects
Weeks after CyLon opened as Europe's first cybersecurity incubator in London, Kaspersky Labs is adding its own entry point to the security-startup pipeline — an online bootcast-style program designed to surface and evaluate early security companies. Where CyLon's launch emphasized linking startups with the UK government, Kaspersky's move comes from the vendor side: an incumbent antivirus maker building its own funnel rather than waiting on independent incubators to feed it deal flow.
The pairing matters because both launches land in the same month, signaling that security-specific founder support is splitting into two models — place-based incubators with government ties, and remote programs run by large vendors with their own commercial agenda.
First-order effects
- Early-stage security founders gain a second, vendor-run route to mentorship and visibility alongside CyLon's London program, with Kaspersky positioned to evaluate participants directly.
Second-order effects
- Incumbent vendors watching the pipeline now face a template: run your own bootcamp to scout acquisition and partnership targets, rather than competing with independent incubators for the same startups downstream.
Third-order effects
- If vendor-run programs proliferate, security startup formation splits between neutral incubators and corporate funnels whose selection criteria favor technologies their sponsors want near their own product roadmaps — a structural question for where independent security innovation comes from.
The trend: Cybersecurity startup support is institutionalizing fast, with specialist incubators and incumbent vendors each building dedicated pipelines to capture early-stage security companies.