The 2025 global cost of cyber attacks was estimated at €10trillion. With cyber attacks growing in scale, cost and sophistication, Luxembourg’s House of Cybersecurity (LHC) is helping cyber startups join the fight: by launching the country’s first cybersecurity accelerator.
LUCYA, which will officially launch in 2026, offers mentoring, workshops, residency, and matchmaking for eligible cybersecurity startups. “I would call it a more facilitator programme, because we don’t issue grants,” says LUCYA coordinator Davide Tremolada, adding “We help startups find the right target, and we give them possible tool integration and technical advice, since LHC is mainly composed of technical experts in cyber security.”
The scheme, which is being piloted with PanIAM, forms part of the country’s last cybersecurity strategy to build the community and develop tools for cybersecurity players.
In 2020 the country counted over 300 cyber security players. LHC data suggests that over a quarter of professionals are transitioning from diverse backgrounds into cyber security, 62.4% of cyber security professionals began their careers outside of Luxembourg and 48% of cyber security professionals are seeking roles to work in Luxembourg. Despite these trends, Tremolada and his team observed that some cybersecurity startups struggle to gain traction.
“Partly it is because there are big players in a small market,” he says, adding: “And some startups don’t have enough credibility to implement their solution in big banks.”
Working on the programme pilot with PanIAM showed the core gaps: finding customers and gaining visibility. LUCYA plans to help here by matchmaking startups with partners or potential customers. “Cecause a startup cannot go on alone. Maybe they have just the idea, but they lack administrative or marketing skills,” the coordinator says.
Participants in the scheme will also be invited to LHC events and those of its partners, for example taking part in the Luxembourg stand at Europe’s biggest digital security event the InCyber forum.
To be eligible, startups must be active in cybersecurity and be located in Luxembourg. To apply, email [email protected] outlining your startups needs and the services you’re interested in. Each programme lasts approximately one year and LUCYA can support up to four startups per cohort.
