Late last month, I had the pleasure of joining Maryland Lt. Governor Boyd K. Rutherford and a delegation of Maryland-based businesses and state employees on an economic development trade mission to Tel Aviv, Israel. (Thanks to Barry Bogage from the Maryland/Israel Development Center and Brian Castleberry from the Maryland Department of Commerce for making it happen.) The purpose of this mission was to tout Maryland’s advanced cybersecurity industry to more than 10,000 attendees from 80 plus countries at CyberTech Global conference.
Israel – or “Start-up Nation” as it’s known – has a rich IT and cybersecurity scene, drawing venture capitalists and future founders from around the globe. According to a report by Tel Aviv-based research firm IVC Research Center, Israeli companies raised $2.24 billion in the third quarter of 2019. By end of the third quarter, Israeli startups had already raised a cumulative $4.68 billion in venture funding, almost the same amount raised throughout all of 2018. Also in 2019, Israeli tech mergers and acquisitions hit nearly $10 billion – a 102 percent increase year-over-year, according to a report published by PwC Israel.
Like Israel, Maryland has much to offer for international cybersecurity companies looking to enter the U.S. or for domestic cyber companies looking to expand.
Our state is home to several top U.S. government’s cyber assets, including Aberdeen Proving Ground, Fort Meade, the National Security Agency (NSA), and the U.S. Cyber Command. Maryland also has 16 higher universities and colleges that are designated by the NSA as National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. All of this translates to jobs. Maryland’s cyber and IT sectors are comprised of 121,000 private and public sector workers, generating upwards of $45 billion in economic activity.
What’s more, Maryland has many resources available to cyber companies to help them succeed. The Maryland Venture Fund, for example, provides seed and early-stage equity funding to startups; the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) facilitates technology transfer from academic and federal labs to the private sector; and the Maryland Department of Commerce gives tax credits for companies with high R&D expenditures and credits for those who invest in Maryland cybersecurity companies.
Over the years, we’ve worked with several cybersecurity companies that have homes in Maryland, including Gemalto, Cybrary, which is now known throughout the cyber world, and Protego Labs, which also had offices in Israel and was recently acquired by CheckPoint. We’ve also helped several international IT and technology companies successfully break into and establish brand presence in the U.S., despite many challenges they often face.
If you’re an overseas IT or cybersecurity looking to move to the states, or if you’re already here and looking to grow in a different market, consider Maryland. We’re happy to discuss how we can help raise your brand awareness among the audiences that matter most to your business.
