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April 21-24, 2026
Marina Bay Sands / Singapore

Startup Spotlight Competition

Friday, April 24 | 4:15 PM - 5:30 PM

Marina Bay Sands

Roselle Junior Ballroom 4611/4711

Submissions are now closed

Finalists

Congratulations to our Top 4 Finalists:

The Black Hat Asia Startup Spotlight Competition is your gateway to showcasing groundbreaking cybersecurity innovations to the world's most influential security professionals, investors, and industry leaders. This pitch competition provides emerging cybersecurity companies with an unparalleled platform to demonstrate their cutting-edge products and solutions to a live audience of decision-makers who shape the future of digital security.

Join the ranks of innovative cybersecurity startups making their mark on the global stage. The Black Hat Asia Startup Spotlight Competition is more than a pitch competition – it's your launchpad to cybersecurity success.

About The Competition

Win your way to exhibit at Black Hat Asia!

Create and submit a 5-minute video pitch using the form below that highlights your cybersecurity company's competitive advantages and demonstrates how your product or solution will help cybersecurity professionals solve real-world challenges. Your submission should clearly explain what makes your solution unique compared to existing alternatives and provide a brief overview of your company and team. We welcome startups at all stages, whether your product is currently in development, preparing to launch within the next 6 months, or has been recently launched within the past 12 months. Complete the application form below and upload your video to enter the competition.

Finalists Receive

  • One (1) Turnkey Startup booth at Black Hat Asia 2026
  • One (1) 25-minute speaking session on the Business Hall Thought Leadership Stage
  • One (1) 30-minute meeting with an Omdia Cybersecurity Analyst
  • Opportunity to compete in the Global Startup Spotlight Competition at Black Hat USA 2026

Key Dates

  • January 5, 2026: Competition opens for submissions
  • March 13, 2026: Submission deadline - all entries must be received by this date
  • March 20, 2026: Finalists announced and notified
  • April 23-24, 2026: Finalists present at Black Hat Asia, exhibit in the Business Hall, and compete for the winner announcement
  • August 2026: Winner advances to pitch live at Black Hat USA Global Startup Spotlight Competition

Who Can Enter

  • Startup companies that are 5 years old or younger with fewer than 50 employees are eligible to enter the competition.
  • You do not need to be an exhibitor at Black Hat Asia 2026 to participate.
    There are no entry fees required.
  • If you're interested in additional promotional opportunities, learn more about exhibiting at Black Hat Asia 2026.

Submit your Entry

Submissions are now closed, thank you for your interest!

Judges

Finalists will deliver a 5-minute pitch presentation of their product or service to a panel of judges and live audience, followed by a 5-minute Q&A session with the judges.

Chiko David

Chiko David

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Programs Director

Hatch

Chiko is a former startup founder, and a builder at the intersection of technology, government, and startups.

In the last 10 years, Chiko has been focusing on dual-use technologies, addressing challenges in the HLS and Defense world with startups developing commercial technologies. Chiko is the former founder of The Garage, a dual-use innovation hub that supports dozens of startup pilots from concept to implementation. Over the past +2 years, he helped to build Hatch - a cross-agency innovation center in Singapore serving the MHA, solving MHA challenges, using dual-use technologies in areas such as robotics, sensors, cyber and Gen-AI.

Chiko actively supports the startup ecosystem, so if you’re working on early-stage startups, dual-use tech - or just enjoy high-quality coffee and 100% dark chocolate -always happy to chat.

Lucas Nelson

Lucas Nelson

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Partner

Lytical Ventures

Lucas Nelson is a Founding Partner of Lytical Ventures; with roots as an old-school hacker and cybersecurity expert, Lucas brings deep technical expertise to venture capital.A Kauffman Fellow (Class of 2015), Lucas holds an MBA from Dartmouth and a BS in Computer Science from Purdue University.

Lucas began his career as part of the underground hacking scene, joining DefCon in 1995 as a Goon—helping to run what would become the largest hacker convention in the United States. He later joined @stake, one of the first elite hacking consulting firms, where he legally broke into banks and early internet companies from 2001 until its acquisition by Symantec in 2005.

In the venture capital world, Lucas served as a Principal at Evolution Equity and Gotham Ventures before co-founding Antecedent Ventures with his current partner, Steve Berg. Beyond investments, he has held operating roles at Adobe and several startups, giving him hands-on experience in the challenges faced by high-growth companies.

Jon Ong

Jon Ong

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Sr. Cybersecurity Analyst

Omdia

Jonathan Ong supports Omdia’s Managed Security Services, focusing on managed detection & response (MDR). He covers the analysis of security providers and their offerings, along with trend analysis to bring you what’s hot and what’s passé, with a spotlight on the APAC region.

Jonathan was previously a cybersecurity analyst at a forex trading company and consulted at a boutique firm specializing in cybersecurity frameworks. He brings a business-led approach to security through experiences at a programmatic marketing MNC and a fintech startup group. Jonathan studied at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois and Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics.

NOTE: Judges must disclose any conflicts of interest with participating startups and are not permitted to score. Each startup is scored according to the official competition criteria, with final rankings determined by the average of all eligible judges' evaluations.

Questions: Contact startup@blackhat.com

Emcee

Shanna Daly

CEO, Torin Cyber Group

Shanna Daly is an accomplished cybersecurity executive and incident response leader with over 20 years of experience helping organisations across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region prepare for, respond to, and recover from cyber incidents. Shanna combines deep technical expertise with strategic vision. Leading high-performing teams that deliver trusted, outcome-driven security services. Her career spans hands-on technical response through to executive leadership, including building and scaling professional services practices, managing complex investigations, and guiding large enterprises through crisis and resilience-building initiatives.