The “Jackson Five” of industrial cybersecurity, MON5 on Thursday won the Luxembourg regional round of the Startup World Cup, and will head to San Francisco in November for the global finals.
When a cyberattack hits a manufacturing facility, what happens? Production stops; defects are introduced; and data is stolen. “It’s not only a problem of revenue loss, but a problem of our security.”
That’s according to Maurizio Ghisolfi, R&D product and research lead at the Italian-Luxembourg startup MON5, which specialises in cybersecurity for critical infrastructure and operational technology environments.
To tackle this challenge, MON5 has created a cybersecurity platform for industrial environments that can map a network and detect threats in real-time, explained Ghisolfi, pitching the startup during the eighth Startup World Cup regional finals, organised by EY Luxembourg Thursday evening.
Competing against six other startups, MON5’s solution convinced a jury made up of representatives of the grand duchy’s startup ecosystem and was named the winner of the Luxembourg regional finals. The cybersecurity firm will head to San Francisco this November to pitch its solution at the global finals – and compete for the chance to win a US$1 million prize in investment.
A “super supportive” ecosystem
“I didn’t expect to win, but I’m super happy! Not only for me, but for the whole company and the whole team. We are super happy about that,” Ghisolfi told Silicon Luxembourg after the announcement.
Founded in 2022, the company was “born in Italy out of the University of Bologna,” explained Ghisolfi. But when it realised it was ready to scale outside of Italy and expand across the European continent, MON5 decided to go to Luxembourg.
“We did Fit 4 Start [an accelerator programme managed by Luxinnovation], and since the beginning, the Luxembourg ecosystem in general has been super supportive,” he said. “Of course, the ecosystem is smaller, but I think it’s a good opportunity to be here because everyone knows each other and is really supportive.”
Meet MON5, A €1.7M Fit 4 Start Success Story In Cybersecurity
The perfect moment
MON5 now has 12 team members split between Luxembourg and Italy, and in February announced a funding round of €1.7 million to scale and attract clients. It already counts the Italian aerospace and defence giant Leonardo as one of its clients, as well as smaller manufacturers across Italy and Europe, but plans to continue targeting industrial SMEs.
“There are already solutions for large enterprises, but for smaller manufacturing plants, there’s nothing. So we think there’s a huge opportunity in the market, especially because of regulations,” said Ghisolfi. The EU’s NIS2 Directive, for instance, covers cybersecurity, risk management, and reporting requirements across 18 critical sectors. “We think the timing is perfect for us.”
Ghisolfi added that he’s “super excited” to represent Luxembourg at the Startup World Cup finals in San Francisco later this year. “I’ve already been to San Francisco three times, and I think it’s amazing. If you want to be involved in technology and startups, it’s the place to be, so I’m super happy about that.”
If MON5 were to win the top prize of a US$1 million prize in investment, he said they’d use the money to continue to scale up the company and to invest in people. “We’re also hiring here in Luxembourg. We think that having A-players in our team is really crucial.”
MON5: ready for the global stage
All seven startup finalists delivered clear presentations, both on the technology and the business model behind their companies, noted jury member Mario Grotz, CEO of Luxinnovation.
But the decision – based on the company’s solution, impact focus, market and competitors, business and scale-up potential, and investor-readiness – was not easy.
“From a commercial, business perspective, [MON5’s solution] was very relevant, given certain trends and circumstances globally,” said jury member Sabrina Alam, space lead of the SnT Technology Transfer Office at the University of Luxembourg and founder & CEO of Matter Space and Defence, discussing the rationale behind the jury’s selection of MON5. “We felt that they are going to really develop the Luxembourg ecosystem in many different ways, and we see them on the global stage, really representing Luxembourg.”
The milestones that MON5 has already achieved also played a role in the decision. “We were impressed by the amount of money that they had raised already, and the traction that they have with customers, including big ones,” added jury member Kyle Acierno, CEO and co-founder of Exobiosphere, the winner of last year’s regional round.
Multiple sectors represented
This year’s finalists for the regional round presented solutions across a variety of sectors, illustrating the diversity of Luxembourg’s startup landscape. These include: an AI-powered waste-sorting solution (Jeff Mangers, CRAB Traceability Systems); an adaptive training platform (Panos Meintanis, Panos); a supplier risk management platform (Jean-Luc Rippinger, Scrioo); installation-free air conditioners (Philippe Schmit, So.Cool); a high-precision positioning system (Simon Litvinov, Stargate); and quantum-based wireless device charging (Ruslana Dovzhyk, TechNovator).
Startup World Cup 2026: Not Six, But Seven Finalists This Year For The EY Competition
The grand duchy’s startup scene owes much of its success to collaboration. “Innovation doesn’t come alone,” noted EY Luxembourg partner and fintech leader Romain Swertvaeger. It relies, as demonstrated during the evening, on a supportive ecosystem and talented entrepreneurs.
