One-liner: a national-benchmark cybersecurity incubation + acceleration initiative, part of INCIBE's "INCIBE Emprende" program, delivered locally by Startup Valencia with Valencia Innovation Capital support — free training, mentoring, a €15,000 prize pool, and a year-long hot desk at La Harinera for winners.
Naming note: this org page represents the initiative/institutional entity. The concrete, appliable instrument (dates, eligibility, application steps) is documented at Cybersecurity Startup Program (Program) — see that page for the actionable how-to-apply detail; this page covers the "who runs it and why it exists" layer per CLAUDE.md §3f.
What a founder gets
- Free 3-month incubation or acceleration track — training sessions, expert mentoring (30–45 hours per project), networking, and visits to leading cybersecurity companies, culminating in a public Demo Day.
- €15,000 in total prizes: €5,000 to the incubation-track winner, €10,000 to the acceleration-track winner — non-dilutive.
- Space: acceleration-track participants get a Hot Desk workspace at La Harinera de Valencia during the program; both incubation and acceleration winners get a full year's workspace at La Harinera afterward, with community access.
- Event access: every participant receives a free Attendee Pass to VDS (Startup Valencia's flagship international tech event, 9th edition referenced for this cycle).
- Sector-agnostic eligibility: you don't need to be a pure cybersecurity company — any startup or project that embeds cybersecurity into its value proposition can apply, which meaningfully widens the applicant pool beyond niche security vendors.
Who it's for
- Idea/pre-company stage founders → the Incubation Program: for entrepreneurs with a cybersecurity-relevant idea who haven't yet incorporated a company.
- Early-stage startups → the Acceleration Program: for teams with a startup already validating in the market.
- Both are aimed squarely at seed/early phase, national in reach (INCIBE mandate) but delivered through the Valencia ecosystem.
How to engage
- Apply via programs.startupvalencia.org/cybersecurity-startup-program when the next call opens — the 3rd edition (2025–26 cycle) has now fully concluded: incubation-track call closed 11 January 2026 (acceleration-track closed earlier, 12 November 2025 — "Plazas agotadas").
- 3rd-edition incubation cohort ran 27 January – 24/25 March 2026 (Mon/Wed 16:00–19:00); Demo Day held ~9 April 2026, showcasing 10 startups (per Startup Valencia press coverage).
- 3rd-edition acceleration cohort ran 18 November 2025 – 31 March 2026 (Tue/Thu 16:00–19:00), same Demo Day.
- No 4th edition announced yet as of 2026-07-05 — this is a recurring annual program; based on past cadence (acceleration opens ~Nov, incubation call deadline ~Jan), expect the next call to surface later in 2026. Check the program page or Startup Valencia channels. #status/verify
Key facts
- Parent program: part of INCIBE Emprende, the national entrepreneurship arm of INCIBE (Instituto Nacional de Ciberseguridad), funded under Spain's Plan de Recuperación / Next Generation EU framework (#PlanDeRecuperacion #NextGenerationEU hashtags used in official program materials).
- Delivery partners: organized by INCIBE and Startup Valencia, with the support of Valencia Innovation Capital (Ayuntamiento de València) — a three-way public–private structure (
ownership: hybrid,governance: national). - Track record: over 70 projects and startups helped to scale and connect with the Valencian tech ecosystem across past editions (per program page); confirmed by 2026 press coverage of the 3rd edition's conclusion: 26 companies incorporated, 40 accelerated, 90+ entrepreneur teams across the program's 3-year run (Valencia Plaza, Interdiario, INCIBE, startupvalencia.org — all citing the same figures as of April 2026).
- Prize structure: €5,000 (incubation) + €10,000 (acceleration) = €15,000 total, funded through the program partnership rather than by Startup Valencia alone.
- Collaborators/sponsors: OVHcloud (cloud credits, per funds-tracker) among named "Colaboradores" on the program page.
- Related national track: cybersecurity scaleups looking for a next step can also look at CEEI's INCIBE Scale Up program (see Cybersecurity Startup Program (Program) for the cross-reference).
Relations
- Run by: Startup Valencia
- Partners with: Valencia Innovation Capital
- Runs: Cybersecurity Startup Program (Program)
- See also: La Harinera (VIC)
- See also: Defense Tech Accelerator
- See also: Cybersecurity (niche)