Israel’s XM Cyber Selected For Swiss Kickstart Program

XM Cyber, the Israeli cybersecurity startup co-founded by ex-Mossad chief Tamir Pardo, announced on Tuesday that it was one of six cybersecurity startups and innovation teams chosen to join Switzerland’s Kickstart program.

The Kickstart program is an acceleration initiative designed to help startups break into the Swiss and European markets. XM Cyber will join other companies in Zurich from sectors such as cybersecurity, finance, and healthcare to “bridge the gap between startups and established organizations and accelerate tech growth,” according to a company statement.

To be selected for Kickstart, applicants need “the right technology and a strong business model with a clear roadmap and existing market traction,” explained Fabian Wabba, cybersecurity vertical lead at Kickstart. XM Cyber meets all of these qualifications, he ssais, and the program looks forward to “watching how they collaborate and innovate with our partners.

The opening ceremony for the Kickstart program will take place on September 6, with a six-week Collaboration Sprint that runs from September 30 to November 8.

In addition to providing XM Cyber with a working space, the program also covers business development expenses. The company will also have the opportunity to engage with several of Kickstart’s partners, including Credit Suisse, Coca-Cola, and Swisscom.

“To be selected to participate in such a prestigious program highlights how important and crucial cybersecurity is for the growth of technological innovation in Switzerland,” said XM Cyber CEO Noam Erez. “We’re honored and very excited to collaborate with some of the country’s most disruptive and prominent organizations.”

Founded in 2016 by Pardo, Erez, a 25-year veteran of the Israeli intelligence community and Boaz Gorodissky, a 30-year veteran of the community, XM Cyber developed a fully automated advanced persistent threat simulation platform to continuously expose attack. The startup is said to look at threats from a hacker’s point of view.

The company has received over 16 industry awards including being recognized as a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum.

Headquartered in Herzliya, XM Cyber also has offices in the UK, the US, and Australia.