gener8tor and Geekdom Announce Five Companies Participating in Spring 2023 gener8tor Cybersecurity Cohort
Two startups are in the San Antonio-Austin region, and three startups arrive from Australia, Ukraine, and Oklahoma, reinforcing San Antonio’s role as the second largest cyber hub in the United States.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Today, gener8tor Cybersecurity announced the second cohort of five startups selected for its Spring 2023 accelerator program. Each company will receive a $100,000 investment from gener8tor, alongside concierge coaching, mentorship and connections needed to build and scale their businesses.
The companies are Aiculus, Brokee, Critical Fault, Mailtrail and Rektify AI, all of whom will participate in-person at the Geekdom offices during the program.
“The gener8tor Cybersecurity Accelerator, led by one of the city’s best cybersecurity experts, is a prestigious addition to San Antonio’s startup ecosystem. We welcome the second cohort to Geekdom,” said Charles Woodin, CEO of Geekdom. “These companies are entering a rich tapestry of cybersecurity talent, knowledge, and expertise and will be put on a pathway for rapid growth.”
The gener8tor Cybersecurity Accelerator is a 12-week program that invests in five startups per cohort. Each cohort remains small to ensure meaningful engagement with the program staff, regional resources and global community. Participants receive strategic and customized coaching, as well as access to gener8tor’s international network of mentors, customers, corporate partners and investors. Throughout the 12 weeks, the program staff serves as an extension of each startup. The gener8tor and Geekdom collaboration secures customers, attracts C-suite mentors and accelerates the cohort’s traction with the ultimate goal of increased revenue and follow-on funding through the gener8tor investment network.
“Our second cohort is composed of the best and brightest startups in the world,” said Amanda Lee Keammerer, managing director of gener8tor Cybersecurity and San Antonio native. “Once again, we have a diverse set of founders tackling the toughest challenges in cybersecurity right here in the second largest cyber hub in the nation. Every single startup founder is building tools to protect and defend organizations against existing and emerging threats. I am proud of our startups and I am excited to see them plant roots here in my hometown, and thrive because of San Antonio’s unique, authentic and collaborative cybersecurity ecosystem.”
The Spring 2023 gener8tor Cybersecurity Accelerator program kicked off on Thursday, March 9, and will conclude Friday, June 2. The five companies competed in a rigorous application and interview process and were selected from hundreds of applicants because of their strong performance on five key elements: cybersecurity industry impact, team, traction, product/service and market opportunity. During San Antonio Startup Day powered by Geekdom, this cohort will showcase their solutions to the public on Wednesday, May 24, at 11:30 a.m., at the Geekdom Event Centre.
Applications for the Fall 2023 cohort are now open. Startups building products in the security tech and cybersecurity industries are encouraged to apply at www.gener8tor.com/cybersecurity. Applications close on Sunday, June 25, 2023.
###
About gener8tor
gener8tor is a global venture firm and accelerator network that supports startups, founders, workers, employers, artists and musicians across race, place and gender. gener8tor partners with companies, governments, universities and nonprofits to operate programs in more than 41 communities across 22 states and two countries. Fast Company named gener8tor one of the Best Workplaces for Innovators in 2021 and 2022.
About gener8tor Cybersecurity
gener8tor Cybersecurity offers a cutting-edge program in San Antonio, home to the second-largest concentration of cybersecurity experts in the United States. gener8tor Cybersecurity is housed within its partner company Geekdom, San Antonio’s premier collaborative startup community located in the heart of the downtown tech district. Together, they provide startups the opportunity to gain traction for rapid growth in the dynamic tech ecosystem of the Alamo City.
About Geekdom
Founded in 2011, Geekdom is a collaborative coworking space building San Antonio one startup at a time. The center of the San Antonio startup ecosystem, Geekdom offers its members resources and opportunities that empower entrepreneurs to ideate, cultivate, shape, and grow ideas into viable businesses ready for the next level. Geekdom is located on four floors in the Rand Building, 110 East Houston St., in downtown San Antonio. For more information, visit www.geekdom.com. Follow Geekdom on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram (@GeekdomSA) and LinkedIn.
gener8tor Cybersecurity Spring 2023 | Cohort Summary
Aiculus leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect and respond to API security threats in real-time. Aiculus prioritizes data privacy, API threat intelligence sharing and a ‘shift-right’ approach which prevents breaches on operational API systems. To date, Aiculus has secured more than $800,000 in pre-seed funding, generates more than $200,000 annually and is trusted by customers in the financial services and telecommunications sectors.
CEO & Co-Founder: Omaru Maruatona | omaru@aiculus.co | aiculus.co | linkedin.com/in/omaru-maru
Brokee provides skills tests built by engineers for engineers. By simulating real-world IT infrastructure challenges, Brokee assesses top-notch DevOps and Cloud Engineers. Brokee reduces the risk of hiring unqualified candidates by 80 percent and cuts the hiring timeline inhalf. To date, Brokee has collaborated with 10 companies, generating $5,500 in revenue from four paid trials and completed 211 assessments of mid- to senior-level candidates, resulting in four high-quality hires.
CEO & Co-Founder: Maksym Lushpenko | maksym@brokee.io | Brokee.iolinkedin.com/in/mlushpenko
Critical Fault provides security testing for companies up and down the supply chain. Through adversary simulation, Critical Fault detects vulnerabilities in applications and information systems. Critical Fault is developing software to automate the security testing of client applications before they reach production. The State of Oklahoma, CBIZ, OG&E, and Flogistix have verbally committed to pilot the software upon a beta launch.
CTO & Co-Founder: Jordan Caldwell | jordan@criticalfault.com | Criticalfault.com | linkedin.com/in/jordan-caldwell-cf
Rektify AI is the champion of Web3 security. Rektify AI assists Web3 projects by identifying vulnerabilities and bugs in their code through comprehensive smart contract auditing. For retail investors, Rektify AI offers the Data Portal, a risk management system that helps users do their own research on Web3 projects. Last year, Rektify AI won the TDeFi Bizthon hackathon in Dubai and the TRON Grand hackathon, receiving global recognition from the blockchain industry. To date, Rektify AI secured $75,000 in revenue and is growing 37 percent year over year.
CTO & Co-Founder: Jasmine Brunson | jasmine.b@rektify.ai | Rektify.ai | linkedin.com/in/jasminesbrunson
Mailtrail offers passwordless compliance software that integrates with any email service. When customers receive citations from regulators, Mailtrail provides ad-hoc compliance training directly to the user. The training arrives via email, removing the log-in barrier, increasing user completion and bringing the organization back into compliance. Through The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Mailtrail will run a pilot project with 150 medical staff.
CEO & Co-Founder: Vance Hanson | vance@mailtrail.io | linkedin.com/in/vance-hanson-37831b103
