CrowdStrike has announced the 35 startups selected for its third annual Cybersecurity Startup Accelerator with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and NVIDIA through its Inception program, fueling the next generation of AI-driven cloud security innovation. Chosen from hundreds of global applicants, the elite group was selected for the strength of their innovation, potential to make market impact, and caliber of their teams.
The free, eight-week program runs from today through March 3, 2026, providing startups with mentorship, technical expertise, funding and go-to-market support, along with access to top cybersecurity experts and global visibility across partner ecosystems.
The program will culminate in a final pitch day for five finalists during the RSA Conference in San Francisco on March 24, 2026, where an expert panel will select one innovation award winner, with potential for investment from the CrowdStrike Falcon® Fund.
“The Cybersecurity Startup Accelerator has become a launchpad for the next era of AI-driven security innovators,” said Daniel Bernard, chief business officer at CrowdStrike. “This year’s cohort reflects a global movement: founders building cloud- and identity-first defenses that put security teams ahead of the speed and scale of AI-emboldened adversaries. With AWS and NVIDIA, we’re creating community and growing “the crowd,” giving these startups the opportunity to turn breakthrough ideas into market-shaping technologies, and push the industry forward.”
“Startups continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in AI-driven security,” said Chris Grusz, managing director, technology partnerships at AWS. “The third year of the Cybersecurity Startup Accelerator once again brings together the power and expertise of AWS, CrowdStrike, and NVIDIA to help these innovators accelerate development, strengthen their platforms, and scale their transformative solutions faster.”
“AI is reshaping cybersecurity at every level, demanding new approaches that can operate at cloud scale and defender speed,” said Bartley Richardson, senior director of agentic AI and cybersecurity engineering at NVIDIA. “Through the accelerator, NVIDIA, AWS, and CrowdStrike are empowering startups with the compute, frameworks and guidance they need to advance agentic AI and build the next wave of intelligent, resilient security technologies.”
