Israel’s Team8 Joins Initiative To Help NYC Become Cybersecurity Leader

By NoCamelsTeam November 06, 2019 2 minutes

Team 8 (l to r): Assaf Mischari, head of resesearch and founders Liran Grinberg, Israel Grimberg, Nadav Zafrir

Israel’s cybersecurity think tank and company creation platform Team8 announced Tuesday it will partner with New York City’s Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) to boost the city’s cybersecurity sector through its Cyber NYC initiative.

The Cyber NYC initiative is a $100 million public-private investment to make New York City a global leader in cyber innovation and create 10,000 new jobs.

Israeli venture capital firm Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) and Tel Aviv startup network SOSA have already partnered with the city to take part in the initiative.

The partnership with NYCEDC will focus on three tracks. The tracks include training and developing talent, growing New York City’s cyber ecosystem and identifying the next big breakthrough idea from the academy, the company said.

Team8 and its portfolio companies will also offer full-time and internship opportunities for local talent to “better prepare the workforce of the future,” a statement said.

Team8 will serve as mentors to the program, hosting the startups in its headquarters as well as co-hosting accelerator events, research symposiums, and other ecosystem building program.

Team8 will work with Columbia University’s Inventors to Founders Initiative (I2F) to source and evaluate projects to glean breakthrough technologies that can transform the industry and create a new wave of NYC cybersecurity startups.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Team8 is the cybersecurity think tank and company creation platform founded in 2014 by Nadav Zafrir, Israel Grimberg, and Liran Grinberg, three former leaders of IDF intelligence unit 8200.

“We’re really excited about our joint activities with EDC and we’re honored to work with leaders from the ecosystem to establish New York City as a global cyber capital,” said Team8 co-founder Nadav Zafrir. “We hope to foster a new level of excitement and prestige around cyber to drive the City’s burgeoning tech ecosystem and cultivate exceptional, highly skilled talent.”

Zafrir will join Cyber NYC’s advisory board.

The company, headquartered in both Tel Aviv and New York has launched a number of successful cybersecurity companies, including Illusive Networks and Claroty, as well as set up a fund backed by big names such as Walmart, Softbank, and M-12, Microsoft’s venture capital arm.

Team8 partnered with the University of Tulsa (TU) last month to launch an advanced degree program called TU-Team8 Cyber Fellows that will serve as a new route for both groups to tap into breakthrough tech innovation in cybersecurity.

The NYCEDC-Team8 partnership was officially launched at Team8’s 5th annual Rethink event on Tuesday. This was a cybersecurity discussion forum, held at the Nasdaq exchange.