LORCA Cohort Companies Exceed GBP150m in Funding in Two Years
September 12, 2020 Share

LORCA Cohort Companies Exceed GBP150m in Funding in Two Years

Cybersecurity startup and scaleup companies which have progressed through the London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement (LORCA) innovation program have collectively raised over GBP150m in investment in just two years.

This is already 280% above the original target of achieving GBP40m in funding in three years set at LORCA’s inception in 2018, highlighting the program’s success as well as the recent rapid growth of the UK cybersecurity sector.

LORCA is a government-backed program that aims to act as a launchpad for cyber-companies through innovation and commercialization consultancy, product development and access to industry and more. In July, LORCA announced the 17 scaleups selected to join its fifth cohort of cyber-innovators.

The GBP153m in investment secured by LORCA cohort companies accounts for 76% of all funds raised by all cybersecurity businesses participating in government scale-up programs, as well as 69% of all cyber-investment in the UK since COVID-19 lockdown measures were introduced in the country in March.

LORCA said that the 72 startups and scaleups it has supported over the past two years have gone on to generate GBP26.5m in revenue, and are projected to create 800 jobs by 2022.

Speaking whilst visiting LORCA’s London HQ yesterday to mark the program’s two-year anniversary, secretary of state for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) Oliver Dowden, commented: “Good cybersecurity is the bedrock of our digital economy – giving people the confidence to shop, work and play online and keeping businesses safe from cybercrime.

“London Tech Week is a fitting time to mark the government’s investment in LORCA, as its network of cutting-edge UK startups smashes investment targets and creates jobs across the country.”

Saj Huq, director of LORCA, added: “Never before has cybersecurity been of such economic and strategic national importance. In the context of the global health pandemic, the UK’s cyber-entrepreneurs have continued to drive job creation, attract investment and consolidate the country’s position as a global hub for cybersecurity innovation. Breaking the milestone of raising GBP153m in just two years is testament to the quality and potential of the cyber-startup ecosystem that exists across the UK and the centrality of it to the UK’s long-term prosperity.”

The growth of the UK’s cybersecurity sector during COVID-19 was outlined in The LORCA Report 2020 published in July, which showed UK cyber-startups raised GBP496m in funding during the first half of 2020.

This post LORCA Cohort Companies Exceed GBP150m in Funding in Two Years originally appeared on InfoSecurity Magazine.

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