On the 5th June 2025, after going head-to-head with seven other leading European cybersecurity startups, Welsh-based Pontiro and Netherlands-based Gambit Cyber were selected as finalists of the Cyber Investor Days London and nominees of the ECSO STARTup Awards 2026 by an independent jury, consisting of renowned European cybersecurity investors.

Winners of local editions of the Cyber Investor Days are eligible to pitch in the ECSO STARTup Awards in front of an independent jury of investors. 

The Cyberhive EUROPE  part of the organising partners with Women4Cyber Foundation Llywodraeth Cymru / Welsh Government, Wales Cyber Innovation Hub, 33N Ventures, Foresight Group, Cyber Londo,n Infosecurity Europe would like to congratulate also would like to congratulate the incredible companies that pitched along the jury: Excalibur,  CNIC Software, Fortyx, Gataca, Plexicus | AI & ASPM,  QuoIntelligence, SecuraNova.
 

What are the ECSO Cyber Investor Days?

The  ECSO Cyber Investor Days event is designed to support start-ups, scale-ups, and SMEs by providing increased access to funding opportunities and facilitating networking with potential investors and business partners. Since 2017, 24 CIDs have been organised, during which more than 350 start-ups have pitched, with the presence of over 800 investors and corporate representatives.  

In this event, 8-12 companies are selected by the Selection Committee to pitch in front of 4-8 jury members (idem), who evaluate them according to predefined criteria . The jury then selects 2 nominees, which will move on to the ECSO Awards Finals event, the European final, where they will compete for the ECSO STARtup Award. 

About the Cyber Investor Days London 2025 Edition

This edition featured a forward-thinking panel of investors on the jury: Adrien Vanheste (TIN Capital), Gonçalo Borges (33N Ventures), Jack Christopher (Development Bank of Wales), John Cordrey (Foresight Group), Linda Brunner (Imagine You Know), and Pete Burnap (Wales Cyber Innovation Hub).

The high-level award jury ultimately decided that Pontiro and Gambit Cyber should be the companies that would go to the European Cybersecurity STARTup Award based on their scalable, disruptive and innovative solution, growth-oriented business plan, go-to-market strategy, business model, use of proceeds, team profile and pitch performance.

Get to know more about the winning companies

Pontiro is an early-stage venture dedicated to safeguarding patient privacy while enabling secure data sharing in healthcare. We are directly addressing the critical challenge of using sensitive patient data for research and AI development without compromising privacy or breaching data protection standards. Our mission is to enhance healthcare’s technological capabilities, driving forward life-saving innovations.

‘We were delighted to be able to share our vision at ESCO Cyber Investor Days London and grateful to be picked as one of the winners. It was fantastic to see so many people aligned with our mission of facilitating safe and ethical research in the medical space.’- Lewis Co-Founder & CEO 

Gambit Cyber is building an AI-Native & Risk-Centric Preemptive Threat Exposure Management Platform, designed to empower executive decision makers—specifically CISOs and their leadership teams—by providing a comprehensive, real-time view of the organization’s security landscape and to build robust defensive security operation center.

"ECSO Cyber Investor Day was an incredible experience—engaging conversations, sharp minds, and a true sense of community among Europe’s leading cyber innovators and experts. It’s exactly the kind of ecosystem where the future of cybersecurity takes shape."- Anuj Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO

Join us in the next edition of the Cyber Investor Days in the Hague on the 2nd of October!