Five Finalists Will Receive Messaging and Go-To-Market Coaching Before Presenting to an Expert Panel of Judges and an Audience of Prospective Investors and Customers
Fulton, Md., Oct. 7, 2025 — DataTribe, a global cyber foundry that invests in and co-builds next-generation cybersecurity and data science companies, today announced five finalists for the 2025 DataTribe Challenge.
The finalists will share $25,000 in prize money and work with DataTribe principals and other cybersecurity entrepreneurs to hone and develop their messaging and presentations for a live event in front of a panel of judges, potential investors, customers, and other cyber startups.
This year’s competition will be a part of Cyber Innovation Day, a new conference that will bring together cybersecurity startups, deep-tech researchers, and visionary investors to explore the future of cybersecurity amidst transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, and Web3. The conference will be held at Capital Turnaround in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 4.
“The proliferation of AI has yielded both tremendous opportunities and grave risks. Already, cybercriminals are using AI to wreak havoc at speed and scale. The adoption of AI technologies across the public and private sectors has created a new battleground where innovative AI-powered security technologies will defend against malicious AI-powered cyber attacks,” said Leo Scott, DataTribe Managing Director. “These five finalists are engineering the technology that will protect enterprises and governments in the AI age. As finalists, they will work with DataTribe’s experienced team of startup coaches to prepare their presentations and ready themselves to connect with the cybersecurity industry’s leading innovators and investors.”
The Eighth Annual DataTribe Challenge Finalists are:
Ackuity – Based in Washington, D.C., Ackuity provides a “pre-SIEM” type system for real-time threat detection and response of AI Agent systems. Their cutting-edge technology can secure every layer of a multi-agent system.
Cytadel – Based in London, U.K., Cytadel’s full attack path automated red teaming technology uses AI to validate defenses, quantify resilience, and expose fixable gaps before an attack even occurs.
Evercoast – Based in New York City, Evercoast provides a pipeline of enriched 4D spatial training data collected from real world environments that can be used to more reliably and effectively train robots.
Tensor Machines – Based in San Francisco, Tensor Machines’s hardware security solution enables printed circuit boards, sensors, and other hardware components (in systems ranging from laptops to robots) to continuously self-certify authenticity while in use. Their approach can provide componentry authenticity certification more granularly and with fewer development hurdles than existing options.
Starseer – Based in Knoxville, TN, Starseer’s platform enables AI system builders to reduce system risk and improve resilience before deployment. It treats AI-systems as probabilistic, analyzing models, training data, refinement steps, and surrounding libraries and system architectures to surface exploitable weaknesses and operational risks – ensuring production systems are safer and more reliable.
An expert panel of cybersecurity leaders will judge each finalist’s presentation and select a winner. This year’s judges include:
- Bob Ackerman, Co-Founder, Datatribe
- Jason Clinton, CISO, Anthropic
- Martin Roesch, CEO, Netography; Founder, Sourcefire
- Harry Coker, Maryland Commerce Secretary; Fmr. National Cyber Director
- John Bruns, CEO, Cyber Ready Clinic; Fmr. CISO Anomali, State of MD
For more information about the DataTribe Challenge and Cyber Innovation Day, please visit https://cid.datatribe.com/.
About DataTribe
DataTribe is a startup foundry that invests in and co-builds world-class startups focused on generational leaps in cybersecurity and data science. Founded by leading investors, startup veterans, and alumni of the U.S. intelligence community, DataTribe commits capital, in-kind services, access to an unparalleled network, and decades of professional expertise to give their companies an unfair advantage. DataTribe is headquartered in the Washington-Baltimore metro area in Fulton, Maryland. For more information, visit https://datatribe.com.
