HMGCC Accelerate

HMGCC Accelerate

Supports HMGCC Accelerate through a six week HMGCC and Plexal engineering programme for hardware and software security firms.

Eligibility · United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand

HMGCC Accelerate is a six-week intensive national security engineering program funded by His Majesty's Government Communications Centre (HMGCC) — an 85-year-old UK national security engineering organization — and delivered in partnership with Plexal, the innovation company based at Here East in London. The program brings together hardware and software companies to test security mitigations for connected and isolated systems in operational national security contexts. Technology examples that have been cited include automated vulnerability detection tools, red-team platforms, and reverse engineering approaches.

The program provides equity-free, grant-free support: no program fees are charged, no equity is taken, and no direct cash award is made. Benefits include expert mentorship from HMGCC engineers, tailored product development support, access to challenge owners within HMGCC, operational scaling guidance, pitch training in national security contexts, free co-working space in Milton Keynes one day per week, and a domestic UK travel allowance. Participation requires founder or senior leadership availability of at least three days per week for the full six weeks. Eligibility criteria require companies to be based in NATO member states, Australia, or New Zealand; to have a hardware or software product ready to scale (at or past MVP stage); and to be willing to undergo UK government security screening. The most recently published cohort ran from February 15 to March 28, 2024, with applications closing January 26, 2024. No new cohort dates had been published as of May 2026.

HMGCC Accelerate is suited to early-commercial-stage companies in cybersecurity, hardware security, or defense technology that want direct access to HMGCC's engineering expertise and challenge problems. The program's national security context means only companies headquartered in allied nations and prepared to undergo vetting are eligible to apply.