Cube 5 | Creating Security

What Cube 5 | Creating Security does

Cube 5 is a non-profit startup incubator hosted at the Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security at Ruhr University Bochum, founded in 2017 to support technology-based startups in cybersecurity and future communication systems (6G). The organization serves as the designated central point of contact for two German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) funding programs — StartUpSecure (since 2017) for IT security startups and StartUpConnect (since 2023) for 6G communication startups — and offers free, confidential consultation, funding-application guidance, coaching, mentoring, and investor networking to founders, researchers, and PhD students in the Ruhr region. Its core technology remit spans cloud and edge security, IoT security, secure digital identities, quantum communication, AI security, and 6G areas including campus networks, integrated sensing and communication, network management, transceiver systems, and fiber-optic systems.

Cube 5 operates within an embedded institutional network that includes the CASA Cluster of Excellence, the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (MPI-SP), the Center for Digital Sovereignty (ZenDiS), and the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS), and participates in the 6GEMcubator consortium with RWTH Aachen, TU Dortmund, and the University of Duisburg-Essen. The organization does not sell commercial software; its business model is funded through BMFTR grants routed via the StartUpSecure and StartUpConnect programs, and its deliverables are incubated startups rather than recurring revenue. Documented portfolio companies include Escrypt (acquired by ETAS Group in 2022), Edgeless Systems, VMRay, PHYSEC, RIPS Technologies (acquired by Sonar), Filen, Code Intelligence, and more than twenty additional cybersecurity firms, reflecting a 25+ year HGI spin-off track record. Distribution is direct-to-founder via in-person and online consultation, supplemented by the Nachgehackt IT Security podcast and event programming such as the Senkrechtstarter Award and the German IT Security Award.

Name

Cube 5 | Creating Security

Legal name

Cube 5 | Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security

Website

https://cube-five.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cube 5 is a non-profit startup incubator at Ruhr University Bochum supporting cybersecurity and 6G technology founders via BMFTR-funded programs StartUpSecure and StartUpConnect, offering free consulting, coaching, and investor networking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Incubation Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

Keywords

• Startup incubator services
• Cybersecurity incubation
• 6G technology programs
• IT security funding
• Founder coaching

Headquarters

HQ city

Bochum

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Incubator Services: Cube 5 operates as a non-profit startup incubator affiliated with Ruhr University Bochum, providing free services to startups including consultation, access to funding programs, coaching, mentoring, and networking. The organization is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) through the StartUpSecure and StartUpConnect initiatives.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cube 5 is a non-profit startup incubator at Ruhr University Bochum that supports technology-based startups in IT security and 6G communications from initial idea through market entry. It administers the BMFTR government funding programs StartUpSecure (cybersecurity) and StartUpConnect (6G), and offers free consultation, coaching, mentoring, and investor networking. All services are provided at no charge to founders, researchers, and entrepreneurs.

Product overview

Cube 5 is a startup incubator offering advisory, funding, and ecosystem services rather than a traditional software product. The core offerings consist of two government-funded programs (StartUpSecure for IT security startups and StartUpConnect for 6G communication startups), supplemented by coaching/mentoring, networking, and VC investment connection services. The Nachgehackt IT Security Podcast serves as a content/marketing channel. The overall portfolio forms a support ecosystem that guides startups from initial idea through market entry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• StartUpSecure A two-phase BMFTR funding program supporting technology-oriented startup projects in IT security. Phase 1 covers idea development with proof-of-principle funding; Phase 2 supports early-stage startups in reaching market maturity. Administered through Cube 5 for founders and startups in the cybersecurity domain.
• StartUpConnect A two-phase BMFTR funding program supporting technology-oriented startup projects in modern and future communication systems (6G). Phase 1 covers the development phase (up to 12 months); Phase 2 covers the implementation phase (12–24 months) to reach market maturity. Administered through Cube 5 for founders and startups in the 6G domain.
• Nachgehackt Podcast An IT Security podcast produced by Cube 5 and distributed via Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Deezer, used for thought leadership and community building in IT security.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25+ years of company founding history
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers27 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) - StartUpConnectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Cube 5 serves as the central point of contact for the BMFTR StartUpConnect funding initiative, which supports technology-oriented startup projects in modern and future communication systems (6G). This partnership enables Cube 5 to provide startups with access to government funding for development and implementation phases.
• Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) - StartUpSecurecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Cube 5 serves as the central point of contact for the BMFTR StartUpSecure funding initiative, which supports technology-oriented startup projects in IT security. This partnership enables Cube 5 to provide startups with access to government funding for development and implementation phases.
• Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security, Ruhr University BochumcoreOthersCube 5 is based at the Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security at Ruhr University Bochum, which has over 25 years of experience in company founding and hosts the startup incubator.
• 6GEMcubator partners (RWTH Aachen University, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnique 6GEMcubator in Germany creating a forward-looking innovation ecosystem for 6G and its applications, partnering with major universities in the Ruhr region and beyond.
• Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (MPI-SP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the innovation network strengthening the Bochum ecosystem, with Prof. Dr. Christof Paar serving as both Project Lead of Cube 5 and Director of MPI-SP.
• CASA Cluster of ExcellencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the innovation network strengthening the Bochum ecosystem through excellent research institutions.
• Center for Digital Sovereignty in Public Administration (ZenDiS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the innovation network strengthening the Bochum ecosystem.
• Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the innovation network strengthening the Bochum ecosystem.
• Horst Görtz FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Foundation honors innovative cybersecurity solutions through the German IT Security Award (since 2006) and supports the Horst Görtz Institute.
• Horst Görtz Institute spin-offs (Escrypt, Edgeless Systems, VMRay, PHYSEC)minorOthersSuccessful spin-offs from the institute's 25+ year history, including Escrypt (part of ETAS Group since 2022), demonstrating the startup ecosystem's track record.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Techstars: Techstars is a global accelerator with multiple verticals including cybersecurity. It serves as a benchmark for what equity-backed accelerator programming looks like, and competes for the same international cybersecurity founder pool that Cube 5 targets domestically.
• ESA BIC (European Space Agency Business Incubation Centres): ESA BIC operates a pan-European network of publicly funded incubators supporting deep-tech startups, including several in Germany. Comparable in operating model (free services, government co-funding, partnership with research institutions) but focused on space-adjacent technologies rather than cybersecurity.
• UnternehmerTUM (TU Munich): UnternehmerTUM is one of Europe's largest university-affiliated entrepreneurship centers, attached to TU Munich. It offers similar incubation, coaching, and corporate partnership services to tech founders and competes with Cube 5 for German deep-tech founders, though with broader vertical scope.

Emerging players

• Founders Factory (cybersecurity vertical): Founders Factory runs dedicated cybersecurity accelerator programs in partnership with corporates. It overlaps with Cube 5 in targeting cybersecurity founders but operates via an equity/co-investment model rather than a non-profit public funding model.

Direct peers

• German Accelerator: German Accelerator is a government-backed program helping German tech startups scale internationally. It targets research-driven founders in adjacent verticals (deep tech, enterprise software) and competes with Cube 5 for the same cohort of federal ministry-supported founders.
• RWTH Aachen Entrepreneurship Center: RWTH Aachen is one of Cube 5's named 6GEMcubator partners and operates its own university-based entrepreneurship support infrastructure. It is highly comparable as an academic tech-startup hub and a direct partner/competitor in the Ruhr/Rhine deep-tech startup ecosystem.
• High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF): HTGF is Germany's leading early-stage tech investor, backed by public and private partners, supporting deep-tech and IT startups from universities. It is highly comparable to Cube 5 in serving research-driven German tech founders including cybersecurity, and overlaps on funnel and capital access.
• CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security (CISPA Innovation Hub): CISPA in Saarbrücken is one of Germany's largest cybersecurity research centers and runs its own startup transfer programs. It is structurally analogous to Cube 5: a federally funded security research institute with an embedded incubator and spinoff pipeline, competing for the same German cybersecurity founders and funding.
• EXIST (BMWK/BMBF startup programs): EXIST is a German federal government program supporting technology-oriented startups from universities, run under the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Like Cube 5, it provides structured funding and coaching to research-driven founders and competes for the same BMBF/BMWK-aligned startup pool, particularly in cybersecurity and deep tech.

Regional players

• CyLon / SANS Cyber Accelerator: CyLon (now linked to SANS Institute) is one of Europe's longest-running cybersecurity-specific accelerators, based in London. It is comparable in its cybersecurity-only focus and structured cohort approach, but operates in a different geography from Cube 5.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Cube-re7qh
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cube-5-creating-security
• Instagraminstagram.com/cube5_security

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cube 5 | Creating Security