The accelerator, called CyberNorth will be launched in Spring by Startup Wise Guys, in collaboration with the Estonian Defence Industry Association. The project is supported by the Estonian Ministry of Defence.
“Apart from the general network of over 150 Startup Wise Guys mentors, the CyberNorth programme will leverage the expertise of the Estonian defence industry and international cybersecurity, defence AI experts and practitioners,” the organisers said in a statement.
Start-ups selected for the accelerator will benefit from up to 30,000 euros in seed money with the possibility of further investment. An intensive three-month mentorship programme will take place in Tallinn.
In 2007 Estonia survived a major cyber-attack that almost stopped the country for more than three weeks. The lessons learned in the 2007 attack have clearly have not come easy, but now media all over the world are naming Estonia a cybersecurity hotspot. The country also hosts the headquarters of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.
