The London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement (LORCA) has announced the launch of its global open call for its fourth cohort of cyber-scaleups.

LORCA, launched in June 2018 and hosted at Plexal, an innovation center located in the Here East campus in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, aims to bolster the UK’s cybersecurity sector and make the internet safer for everyone by supporting the most promising later-stage companies.

LORCA offers 12-month programs from which companies can benefit from a collaborative ecosystem of academia, innovators, government, investors and industry.

It has already welcomed three cohorts of companies into its previous programs, which have gone on to raise over £58m in investment and won 514 contracts.

LORCA is now inviting new applications based on three innovation themes, after consulting with industry leaders from various sectors about their most pressing cyber-challenges and the types of solutions they need from the market in the future.

The three themes are: connected economy, connected everything and connected everyone.

The latest cohort will receive bespoke support with scaling in the UK and abroad, as well as access to commercial and engineering experts through delivery partners Deloitte and the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen’s University Belfast.

Saj Huq, program director, LORCA, said: “As technology increasingly impacts all aspects of business and society, it’s clear that a cybersecurity paradigm shift is needed. Now more than ever, we need to support the development of cutting-edge innovations across the board to help us lead safer digital lives, keep our infrastructure secure and protect our digital economy from complex and evolving cyber threats. Given its increasing significance within a world that is more connected by the day, cybersecurity has to be everywhere – and serve everyone.”

The deadline for applying is Monday November 4 2019, with full details available here.