Business-friendly with an advanced digital economy and consistently regarded as a world-renowned smart city, Singapore is a special place for technological progress and a powerful cyber and AI security hub for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.
This combination presents a powerful launchpad for ambitious cyber security companies from overseas. For these reasons, international innovation initiative CyberBoost Catalyse was launched from the country in 2024 and has been delivered as a trilogy of programmes.
A collaborative effort, CyberBoost Catalyse was established by the CyberSG TIG Collaboration Centre, supported by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) and National University of Singapore (NUS) and powered by Plexal.
The six-month hybrid programme commences with a week of in-person activity from Singapore itself to help the business leaders selected for the programme connect with one another and the APAC market itself. From there, we collectively helped companies master growth strategies, build international connections, access investment and commercial opportunities and enter global cyber ecosystems.
Committing their energy to the initiative, from attending panel discussions and networking sessions to learning about raising funds and entering new markets, has proven to deliver business value. Across three cohorts, the startups have raised investment in the tens of millions of pounds and hired over 60 full-time staff based on CyberBoost Catalyse support.
Having welcomed a broad range of leaders from countries spanning Singapore and Israel to the UK, South Korea, Oman and US, we’ve caught up with programme participants to understand their lessons from expanding internationally and how they plan to move forward with their newfound knowledge.
CloudsineAI (Singapore)
CloudsineAI started with the aim of making organisations more resilient. Speaking to Plexal about the company’s evolution, CloudsineAI CEO and founder Matthias Chin said: “We started with web and cloud security and have helped many reputable clients in that space. From there, we pivoted into the generative AI security space and our goal is to help organisations and communities adopt generative AI securely for productivity and collaboration.”
Multiple factors prompted the pivot. “Generative AI was emerging as a major trend when we were going through CyberBoost Catalyse. We also brought on co-founders who were highly interested and skilled in generative AI and decided to leverage our track record in building secure products.”
As a Singapore-based company, we were keen to hear what drew CloudsineAI to CyberBoost. “CyberBoost Catalyse wasn’t just local to Singapore, it included the opportunity to collaborate with Plexal in the UK, making it truly international,” Matthias detailed. “The networking component was a big draw, meeting cyber startups across regions to build relationships we otherwise wouldn’t have had.”
Today, CloudsineAI serves many medium-to-large enterprises and government agencies, spanning financial, healthcare, education and IT. Matthias believes more customer opportunities in new markets await – but recognises localisation is a factor.
Matthias noted CloudsineAI’s international plans were nascent prior to joining CyberBoost, despite some initial customers in Asia, Australia, Europe and US. “We had overseas customers via our online digital platforms but no real on-the-ground presence. CyberBoost helped us think more strategically through workshops and advisor support, from which we gained more clarity on the regions to prioritise – like ASEAN, the UK and US.”
So how is the team capitalising on the lessons? “We’re taking a marketing-led approach to expansion,” Matthias said. “We’re using digital channels to gauge demand before committing resources. We still travel to events to build in-market insights and then using these data points to guide our hiring in-country after we understand where the strongest traction lies.”
Matthias concluded: “We’re continuing our journey of global expansion and programmes like CyberBoost Catalyse make a real difference in helping startups like ours gain clarity, build networks and shape our international strategies. We’re excited about what’s ahead.”
SQR (UK)
Headquartered on the UK’s Isle of Man, SQR specialises in ID proofing and has steadily enhanced its identity infrastructure to become more intelligent. This extends from providing organisations confidence when conducting crucial compliance checks through to consumers benefitting from more personalised experiences both in-person and online.
Prior to CyberBoost, SQR explored launching in the US and, although the timing wasn’t right, it revealed some valuable lessons – namely that entry was slower and more expensive than expected. “With Singapore, we took a more strategic approach and it paid off,” said SQR CEO Shelley Langan-Newton.
Flying to Singapore gave Shelley a moment of clarity where new markets were concerned. “CyberBoost was pivotal,” she began. “Through the application process and being in the ecosystem, we realised how strong the maritime opportunity was – across Singapore, but also the UK and Isle of Man. That insight helped us narrow focus and align our general-purpose tech with a real market need as maritime was validated as a core vertical for us. I gained a much clearer sense of our positioning and go-to-market strategy.”
Having explored America prior to Singapore, Shelley contextualised her thoughts of the Asian smart hub. “Singapore is smaller than the US but incredibly efficient and well-connected,” she said. “You can meet key players – lawyers, corporate service providers and partners – within a short timeframe. It’s friendly, navigable and tightly networked, which is incredibly helpful for startups like us. There’s real long-term value in those connections and we’ll leverage our network as we scale. Programmes like CyberBoost Catalyse are incredible if you go in with the mindset of exploration, not instant ROI.”
Shelley emphasised the importance of local support. “It’s one thing to have an idea but validating it with real conversations is everything,” she said. “Following the programme, we’ve refined our roadmap and pitch deck to support another fundraise. Singapore will be a major focus for us, particularly with the maritime connections we’ve built.”
VulnCheck (US)
Frustrated by the existing batch of vulnerability management tools on the market that relied on time-consuming manual analysis, threat intelligence expert Anthony Bettini founded cyber security startup VulnCheck in 2022.
“We knew the industry needed better data, faster; to eliminate human interference in intelligence curation and collection, and to solve the problem entirely in software,” said Thomas Bain, CMO at VulnCheck.
Adopting the slogan ‘outpace adversaries’, the Massachusetts-based company provides real-time exploit and vulnerability intelligence for organisations including government agencies and large enterprises.
In joining CyberBoost Catalyse, VulnCheck sought to grow its existing footprint in the US and Singapore, with the latter an anchor for its Asia-Pacific push into markets including Japan, while the UK is also a target. The company successfully connected with private and public organisations alike, harnessing events such as GovWare and Cybersecurity Innovation Day 2024, exploring partnerships in Singapore to develop next-gen solutions.
During CyberBoost, VulnCheck grew its headcount by 35, demonstrating a commitment to growth. It successfully raised a $12m Series A investment led by Ten Eleven Ventures in March 2025, at which time it revealed plans to accelerate international expansion with the funds by scaling go-to-market initiatives.
“Vulnerability prioritisation is a top three cyber security problem that’s impacting organisations across the globe,” said VulnCheck CEO Anthony Bettini. “This funding represents a commitment to our customers to help them win the fight against adversaries that are weaponising and exploiting an ever-growing volume of vulnerabilities faster than ever.”
VulnCheck has since opened its first UK office in renowned cyber and national security hub Cheltenham, which forms its EMEA HQ, and has raised a $25m Series B investment to scale growth and enhance its technologies. It’s also been setting up its Singapore entity and hiring locally.
ZeroPort (Israel)
Israeli-based ZeroPort knew from early that it had to expand globally to capture a larger market share. And given CEO Joseph Gertz’s pre-existing knowledge of Singapore’s cyber ecosystem, it became a focus for the hardware security startup.
“When it comes to international expansion there are no shortcuts,” said Joseph. “We knew when we joined CyberBoost Catalyse that the Singapore market was a good fit for ZeroPort and qualified the opportunity from the get-go.”
Using CyberBoost Catalyse to make new connections and bolster its in-market reputation, ZeroPort moved quickly – finding two local partners to support with distribution, securing proof of concepts with the likes of Singapore’s national water authority and setting up a Singapore entity.
“We’ve focused on clearly articulating the value proposition for ZeroPort’s product in the context of the customers in Singapore and making sure we really understand their challenges and environment,” Joseph continued.
On the back of this, ZeroPort successfully made its first Singapore hires to support growth and technical delivery. Flying into Singapore from Israel repeatedly, Joseph committed to laying the groundwork to build relationships, ensuring partners had all the right collateral and training to represent ZeroPort in the region.
Part of ZeroPort’s success to date has been its customer-centric mindset and understanding the importance of dedication and focus. Joseph has already shared insights from ZeroPort’s growth so far and is keen to mentor younger founders. The business is setting up an office in Singapore alongside local customers, with plans to establish a manufacturing base for its hardware in Singapore to be closer to the customer.
“I’ve personally committed a lot of my time to being there in person, which is partly why we’ve been able to see success so quickly,” said Joseph. “ZeroPort is now looking forward to building up our Singapore team and deepening our relationships with customers.”
Goldilock (UK)
From original inception in the Czech Republic, Goldilock launched in the UK in 2021 by which time it had evolved from cryptocurrency protection and tapped into its potential for securing critical national infrastructure.
“We began to internationalise the business in 2022, going westwards to the US and eastwards to Asia,” said Chris Hurd, Director of Asia at Goldilock. “Singapore was chosen as the location of our subsidiary and office because of its unique market characteristics and its Asia-Pacific hub status.”
As a scaleup, the Goldilock team would often monitor growth opportunities to maintain, which is where CyberBoost Catalyse fit in. “In Singapore, we’ve had major success in winning grant awards and prizes, but CyberBoost to us seemed to add a further dimension in terms of offering valuable consultancy time and expertise on the ground,” Chris detailed. “The regular in-depth sessions and the introductions made have been extremely useful to us.”
Prior to joining the programme, Chris and his Goldilock colleagues were already well acquainted with the local market. “Having shown faith in Singapore as our Asian hub, we were already established in country with an extensive range of end-user, partner and investor contacts and growing traction across the board,” he explained. “However, CyberBoost has helped us to a greater level of awareness of market nuances and what to look for, enabling us to reappraise our target strategy to better effect.”
Offering guidance to those unfamiliar with Singapore as a business opportunity, Chris noted that while the breadth of the market is somewhat limited in size on the surface, it has all-important depth. He also pointed to the need to have supporting evidence to build a customer base. “There’s a reticence about being first mover on new product adoption so, as a generality, the ability to show tried and tested status through real use cases is important,” he said. Beyond Singapore, Japan and Taiwan are standout markets within ASEAN that interest Goldilock.
Looking ahead, what can we expect to see from the company? According to Chris: “Greater recognition and awareness of the power of our solution, our first Singapore marquee client and further enhancements to our technology. We look to be a go-to name in cyber security.”
Vulcan (Singapore)
From providing online protection for digital lifestyles, Vulcan realised rapid adoption of AI at large meant new risks to manage – from unpredictable model behaviours to vulnerabilities in agentic applications.
“We launched Vulcan to help organisations address AI risks with AI adversarial testing, red teaming and real-time generative AI monitoring and policy enforcement,” said Sue Yen Leow, Director of Partnership at Vulcan.
Declaring “generative AI risks don’t stop at borders,” Sue Yen reasoned Vulcan had international plans from the outset. The business applied for CyberBoost Catalyse believing the programme would deliver structured support for international growth and it delivered on those expectations. The company already had strong traction in markets including South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Middle East, so the challenge wasn’t demand, but achieving sustainable scale alongside building partnerships and credibility.
“The programme has helped us sharpen our go‑to‑market strategy, build new commercial relationships and accelerate expansion into regions that value strong AI governance,” said Sue Yen. “It’s also validated our role as a trusted testing partner in Singapore’s AI Verify Foundation’s Global AI Assurance Sandbox.”
Providing her perspective on what international peers can expect from Singapore, she offered: “Singapore is one of the most forward‑leaning markets in the world when it comes to AI governance and cyber security. Enterprises here move fast but expect strong guardrails, especially in financial services, government and critical infrastructure.” For companies such as Vulcan, the country is both proving ground and launchpad, with Sue Yen highlighting the powerful collaborative ecosystem of regulators, research institutions and industry.
The business intends to strengthen its position as a trusted security partner for generative AI across Asia and the Middle East in the months to come, which it’s doing by doubling down on research efforts into emerging areas including agentic systems.
“Our focus remains on delivering full-spectrum security across both AI systems and traditional applications, from adversarial testing and vulnerability discovery to real-time governance and policy enforcement,” Sue Yen said. “Looking ahead, we’ll scale our presence through strategic cyber security partnerships and distributors, while exploring market entry into Europe through trusted collaborations.”
The CyberSG Talent, Innovation and Growth (TIG) Collaboration Centre is a collaborative venture between the National University of Singapore and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) that aims to propel Singapore as the world’s premier cyber security innovation hub for economic growth. Visit the website for more information.
