16 April 2026

Season 8, Post 13: “A polite punch in the face”

This wonderful and very British image best captures what the UK cybersecurity industry needs if it is to hold its own on the global stage. Such a view was voiced (literally) across a day of fascinating sessions attended by your author and 200 other stakeholders last week. Building the UK Cyber Flywheel, Round 2 followed last year’s successful inaugural event, profiled here.

Across presentations from government officials, business leaders, Chief Information Security Officers, investors and start-up founders, the audience heard the consistent message that while the UK does not lack cyber innovation, it lacks coordinated execution. Britain has recorded just five cyber exits (or business sales to third parties) worth more than $100m in the past six years. By contrast, Israel – a country roughly a seventh of the UK’s size – has achieved over 50.

A more coordinated playbook, a deeper network of mutual support and cross-industry buy-in were the ingredients most cited for the UK to improve its success rate in cyber. One participant noted that we were “incredibly polite.” Another said we were “too risk averse.” To counter this, “hustle more”, “build like hell” and “leverage your network” were offered up as solutions. Given current geopolitical uncertainties, even government officials recognised that “we need to up our game.”

Almost everyone, however, left the event optimistic. The UK cyber start-up environment is highly vibrant. This was most evident in a series of pitches from early-stage cyber companies. All the businesses that appeared on stage are helping to solve real problems, from managing vulnerabilities through to mitigating disinformation campaigns via helping to protect data and minimise losses. If there were a common feature, it is how AI (and agents) have moved from the theoretical into real-world use-case implementations.

16 April 2026

The above is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Any forward looking statements are based on assumptions that may change. The views expressed are solely those of the author at the time of writing. Any personal investment held by the author has not influenced the content. This article should not be relied upon for investment decisions. Past performance does not predict future returns, the value of investments and income from them can fall as well as rise.

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Alex Gunz, Fund Manager

Photos by the author.

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