Cyber-accelerator Mach37 today announced its spring 2016 class, launching with six new security startups. Mach37 provides some initial funding to participants, as well as mentoring and training to help build security ideas and technologies into real companies.
In a video interview with eWEEK, Rick Gordon, managing partner of Mach37, provides insight into the new class, as well as how overall the program has been working to help 35 companies over the last three years.
In the spring 2016 class, Gordon said that one of the new companies, called Unblinkr, is taking direct aim at automotive security, which is an increasingly hot topic. An area of particular focus for Mach37 is the threat intelligence space, an area that startups Provenance and NormShield are in. Understanding security vulnerabilities and mapping that to potential business risks is another area of focus for Mach37 and is reflected in the new Hill Top Security startup.
Mach37 isn’t just helping to train the new cyber-security startups, it also takes an equity stake in the companies it trains. Over the last three years, it’s an investment that Gordon is confident will bring his organization significant returns. Many of the companies that Mach37 has helped to launch have received acquisition offers, but so far none has actually been acquired, he said. Gordon added that he’s glad that so far all the companies have said no to acquisition offers, as their full potential has yet to be realized.
Going a step further, there are several Mach37 companies that have graduated from the program that are now on track to raise a Series A round of funding.
Watch the full video interview with Rick Gordon below:
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at eWEEK and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.