The CyberASAP Demo Day will return to London on February 25. Now in its ninth year, the day gives investors and industry stakeholders a chance to look at cyber security proof of concepts and prototypes as developed by academic teams from UK universities. This year’s cohort addresses such cyber issues as privacy, ransomware and quantum security, money laundering and controlling harmful material sharing among children.
The UK government-backed CyberASAP (Cyber Security Academic Start-Up Accelerator Programme) is funded by the UK Government Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and delivered by the trade body Innovate UK, turns publicly funded academic research into cyber security solutions. The programme has so far seen academics from over 70 universities (most outside London and most non-Russell Group) across the UK through their journeys to commercialisation. The 2026 day will showcase 14 demos:
- Cardiff University: CipherGrit: Real-time ransomware detection
- Coventry University: AI-Driven Semi-Automated Threat Analysis and Risk Assessment for automotive cyber security (AutoTARA)
- De Montfort University: PrivacyEye: Controlling Harmful Multimedia Sharing Among Children
- Lancaster University: Photarix: Room-temperature, telecoms-wavelength single photon sources for quantum-secure encryption
- Teesside University: MediVault: A Privacy-preserving Data Collaboration Platform for Healthcare
- Teesside University: GUARD: Generated Unauthentic Ad Recognition & Detection
- Ulster University: IoT-Driven Cyber Security Framework for Intrusion Detection in the Internet of Drones (Drone Sentinel)
- University of Birmingham: SynapTrack – Identifying Money Laundering on the Blockchain
- University of East London: AssetGuard+: AI-Driven Asset Criticality Classification with Generative AI, Automated Risk Assessment, and Privacy-Preserving Analytics
- University of Edinburgh: Cairnlytics – Understand Open-Source Risk
- University of Greenwich: Presenza – Immersive and continuous privacy-preserving age assurance for XR users
- University of Portsmouth: LockNest: The Ultimate Protection for Spam and Threat Containment
- University of Sheffield: SecureCall: A Caller Authentication and Encrypted Communication Solution
- University of Wolverhampton: SoC4SMEs: Delivering Open-Source Security Operations Center (SoC) Solutions as a Service to Strengthen Cyber Security for SMEs in the UK
Dr Emma Fadlon, Co-Director of CyberASAP, Innovate UK Business Connect, will also deliver a welcome address at the event. She said: “It’s always exciting to take our cohorts to Demo Day, where they get a taste of engaging with investors and other industry stakeholders to gain feedback and in some cases, even leading to early investment.”
The day will also feature alumni from previous cohorts, highlighting teams that have progressed beyond proof of concept to form spin-outs, secure follow-on investment and bring cyber solutions to market. The showcase gives investors access to founders, insights into commercially validated technologies emerging from UK universities and early visibility of scalable opportunities addressing pressing cyber issues. To find out more about the event and register, visit: https://eur.cvent.me/7k71NR?rt=CInyoSmASEqC_uMbTND2yg.
