Cyber Challenge
Frequently Asked Questions
Program
Each Cyber Challenge runs for approximately eight months, from recruitment to program completion, and is divided into two stages.
Stage One lasts about one month. Admitted companies join on a rolling basis during the recruitment period, and typically complete this stage within five weeks.
Stage Two spans three months and follows a fixed schedule with set start and end dates.
Cyber Challenge Cohort 2 began in February 2025.
Cyber Challenge Cohort 3 will begin in September 2025.
Cyber Challenge Cohort 4 will begin in January 2026.
This Cyber Challenge is hybrid. Participants will have access to webinars, networking sessions, one-on-one mentorship opportunities, and online learning modules, all of which will be curated to foster their development as they progress throughout the Challenge. In-person components include Orientation Days, Pitch Days, Sales Bootcamps and Demo Days.
The Cyber Challenge is only offered in English. Participants must be able to comprehensively read and write in English.
We welcome applications from startup or scaleup companies who fit the following criteria and have:
- Applicant must be a company incorporated in Ontario, or in Canada but is doing business in Ontario with a permanent establishment in Ontario.
- The proposed project must be carried out in Ontario.
- Companies must ensure they have the rights to commercialize their technology in all parts of Ontario.
- Applicants must be a small or medium sized enterprise, with less than 100 employees.
- Companies must have 1 or more team members with full-time commitment to the business.
- Companies must hold the underlying IP rights or demonstrate an ability to obtain or secure the rights associated with the technology and demonstrate they intend to work towards protecting any currently unprotected IP.
- TRL 3 or greater as attested by applicant and validated through screening.
- Companies must provide a product development timeline that reasonably aligns to the expectations of the incubator program.
- Minimum Viable Product developed, in-market or about to launch.
Ideal Cyber Challenge participants are small to medium-sized companies in the cybersecurity, IT, or software development industries, who are Ontario-based or have a presence in Ontario and are past the ideology stage of their product development.
For each cohort, 20 companies will be invited to participate in Stage One and 10 companies per cohort will be selected to move into Stage Two.
Relevant industry partners across all aspects of the sector supply chains and value chains will be participating in each Challenge as mentors, advisors and experts. Individuals and organizations will be participating to inform participants on procurement processes, regulatory landscape, business-critical cybersecurity concerns, sales cycle, and industry trends amongst many other topics.
Stage Two for Cohort 2 will begin on September 2025.Stage Two for Cohort 3 will begin on January 2026.Stage Two for Cohort 4 will begin on August 2026.
Startups can apply to any of the following sectors: Automotive, Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing, Smart Infrastructure, Mining, Law Enforcement, and Agri-Food.
We work directly with industry partners within six specific sectors (Automotive, Life Sciences, Smart Infrastructure, Advanced Manufacturing, Law Enforcement, Agri-food, and Mining) who will be guiding participants on how to adapt their solution for success in each industry. Founders will have the opportunity to pitch their products to industry partners, with the goal of securing product testing and sales opportunities.
Application
The application process for the Cyber Challenge is a two-step process:
- Application Form Submission
- Screening Call
Interested candidates are encouraged to apply online through our portal at https://cybersecurecatalyst.ca/cyber-challenge/.
All applicants will be reviewed by the Catalyst recruitment team and will be notified of the outcome via email. Successful candidates will receive an offer letter and move forward to Stage One of the program.
Applicants should expect to receive information about next steps within a month of reviewing their application.
Yes. If you are not accepted into a Cyber Challenge, you are welcome to apply for future cohorts. Companies may apply to multiple cohorts; however, those who have completed Stage two of a previous Cyber Challenge are not eligible to apply to future cohorts.
Companies may apply to multiple Challenges, but may only participate in one Cyber Challenge. Should this change as the Challenges progress, we will contact those who express an interest in participating in multiple Challenges.
This would be decided on a case-by-case basis. The Cyber Challenge team will connect with any companies who may be eligible to apply to a future challenge if they did not progress to Stage Two.
Finances
Participation in the Cyber Challenge is free — no equity is taken from participating companies. Our mission is to support growth and success.
General
We work directly with industry partners within six specific sectors (Automotive, Life Sciences, Smart Infrastructure, Advanced Manufacturing, Law Enforcement, and Mining) who will be guiding participants on how to adapt their solution for success in each industry. Founders will have the opportunity to pitch their products to industry partners, with the goal of securing product testing and sales opportunities.
Other
Please contact the Cyber Challenge team at programs@cybersecurecatalyst.ca.
Please contact the Cyber Challenge team at programs@cybersecurecatalyst.ca.
