As nonstop breaches target everything from telecoms to health care, RSAC Conference is giving out $50 million to startups who can help plug the data drain.
The grants come in the form of $5 million prizes for each of the 10 finalists of the conference’s Innovation Sandbox contest.
Over 200 companies applied for the contest, a testament to the growing need for cybersecurity solutions, RSAC’s track record of helping companies gain notoriety and the power of AI in helping products go to market faster than ever.
Nearly all of the companies competing for the title of “most innovative startup” mention AI in their pitches, and a few of them focus on reigning in its powers so companies can safely implement AI solutions within their business. The 10 firms are: Aurascape, CalypsoAI, Command Zero, EQTY Lab, Knostic, Metalware, MIND, ProjectDiscovery, Smallstep and Twine Security.
With AI dominating the conversation at most conferences, RSAC won’t be falling behind.
“Forty percent of our session submissions referenced AI, in particular AI governance [and] the need for agents around machine models” said RSAC Chief of Staff Linda Gray Martin, who also serves as senior vice president of the conference. “With authentication and access control, AI just adds complexity there as organizations trace and manage the proliferation of non-human identities.”
The 10 firms will deliver three-minute pitches and participate in a Q&A for a panel of experts at this year’s conference. The judges include current and former executives from Morgan Stanley, Check Point, Verizon and McAfee.
The $5 million checks will be written by Crosspoint Capital, the Menlo Park-based private equity firm that bought a large stake in RSAC in 2022.
A More Complex Network
This year’s Innovation Sandbox contest will take place at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, just around the corner from RSAC’s usual home at the Moscone Center.
“We’ve traditionally just used the three Moscone buildings: North, south and west,” said Gray Martin. “This year we’re expanding to the Center of the Arts theater, very close to Moscone North. It’s the first time we’re using it for our keynote program. We have a huge auditorium there that holds 800 people.”
It’s a much needed addition for a conference that’s expected to draw nearly 40,000 people this year.
In addition to the trade show floor, RSAC, which dubs itself the “convening authority for the cybersecurity industry,” will feature more than 700 speakers on topics across the cybersecurity spectrum.
“It’s educational in nature, and we bring the industry together to learn and share knowledge,” said Gray Martin.
This year’s speakers include Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz, who will lead a keynote on how chief information security officers (CISOs) can work their way into board rooms. Former NPR CEO Vivian Schiller, now the executive director at Aspen Digital, will be joined by New York Times investigative reporter Michael S. Schmidt and two others for a talk on how to make people care about cybersecurity. Also speaking are former US Homeland Security official Chris Krebs, now the chief intelligence and public policy officer at SentinelOne, and Tal Rabin, a computer science professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a director at Amazon Web Services who will moderate a cryptographer’s panel.
RSAC will also feature its fair share of star power on the West Stage.
Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard will be interviewed by his daughter, actress Bryce Dallas Howard. NBA legend Magic Johnson and Grammy winner Jamie Foxx will also take the stage to talk about their life experiences.
This year’s open call for speakers drew 2,800 submissions.
“Competition is fierce,” Gray Martin said. “It’s a jam-packed week.”
Plugging Away
The actual RSAC Conference staff hovers around 20, a number that swells significantly to nearly 300 for the actual conference.
They partner with Nth Degree for event management and RainFocus for software to capture data, including attendee registration and speaker management.
The trade show floor is organized with the help of an exhibitor advisory board, composed of sponsors at the highest levels.
“We hear from them first-hand. We find it really beneficial to help us design,” Gray Martin said.
With new conversations around cybersecurity popping up every year, her biggest challenge is keeping the content “refreshed and relevant.
“We’re so lucky we have such an experienced team,” she added.
RSAC Conference will take place from April 28 to May 1 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Tickets start at $2,695 for a full pass and $99 for the expo hall, with discounts for government workers and students and faculty. One-day passes are also available.
