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The Korea Herald
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THE INVESTOR
March 29, 2024

SparkLabs launches accelerator program for cybersecurity, blockchain startups

  • PUBLISHED :September 20, 2018 - 11:11
  • UPDATED :September 28, 2018 - 11:25
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[THE INVESTOR] SparkLabs Group, a network of accelerators and venture capitals funds, said on Sept. 19 it is launching a new global accelerator program focused on cybersecurity and blockchian startups in Washington, D.C.

The largest accelerator group in Asia already operates in Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia. They recently launched an energy-focused accelerator in Oman and are now expanding into the US for the first time. 




SparkLabs Cybersecurity + Blockchain will be led by two seasoned entrepreneurs: Brian Park and Mike Boot. Park is a three-time entrepreneur and former COO of Startup Grind, one of the largest entrepreneurial communities in the world. Bott is the former managing director of The Brandery which was recognized as a top 20 accelerator under his leadership.

“We’re excited to bring the SparkLabs brand, connections and expertise to D.C. Immediately, within weeks of our agreement, the SparkLabs team brought in an incredible network of advisors and partners that would support this new accelerator and the startups that we will be investing in,” Boot, co-founder and managing partner, said in a statement.

“If you are building the next big thing in cybersecurity or blockchain anywhere in the world, any founder should look at this exciting new accelerator we are launching.”

A slew of renowned technology experts have also joined the advisory board. They include: Ray Ozzie, former chief software architect at Microsoft and creator of Lotus Notes; Charlie Lee, creator of Litecoin; Eric Ly, co-founder of Linked; Andrew Lee, co-founder of Handshake; and Samson Mow, CSO of Blockstream and CEO of Pixelmatic.

“We want to foster and grow a robust ecosystem in both cybersecurity and distributed ledger technologies. We believe these two verticals are synergetic by nature, but we will seek innovation beyond the overlap,” another co-founder and managing partner Park said.

“It’s so early within this space that we are only seeing the Friendsters and MySpaces of the blockchain world. The next Facebooks and Twitters will be developed over the next several years.”

The SparkLabs Cyber+Blockchain program is based in Washington D.C. and the first class will start in March 2019, and applications will begin in January 2018. For more information, please visit https://www.sparklabscyber.com

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)

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