A data protection startup has won a pitch award at Edinburgh’s annual tech investor conference – EIE.

ionburst is a tech platform that addresses data leaks in the cloud for SMEs and larger corporates at a time when hackers and ransomware are becoming more prevalent worldwide.

Ionburst CFO Anne Lanc, a former treasury director at BlackRock, said: “We’re delighted to win EIE21, it’s such a prestigious event and the standard of competition was incredibly high, and now that EIE has showcased us we look forward to speaking to investors that want to help us build a global business.” 

The Edinburgh-headquartered company was voted best pitch against Earth Blox, Bridgeweave, Net AI, iOPt, Libereat, Beta Bug, Nebu-Flow, Transwap and GoBubble. 

Previous EIE Pitch of the Day winners include Callum Murray-founded identity verification software specialist Amiqus, Amy Williams-founded ethical advertising technology startup Good-Loop, and Rotimi Alabi-founded “laboratory on a chip” tech firm RAB-Microfluidics.

Jenny Tooth OBE, CEO of the UK Business Angels Association, said: “It was such a pleasure to chair an investment panel at EIE21 alongside my esteemed investor panelists.  The quality of entrepreneur pitches was excellent, showcasing some very significant innovations and disruptive technologies applied across a wide range of sectors and markets.  It’s great to see EIE go from strength to strength.”

Mike Welch OBE, one of the keynote speakers at EIE21 who is now running one of the world’s largest online tyre retailers, Miami-headquartered Tirebuyer, commenting on Scotland’s tech scene said: “Scotland now has a digital friendly ecosystem, it’s a great time to be based in the country, be part of the set-up and take advantage of the opportunities available.”  

EIE has supported over 500 tech startups since 2008 who have collectively raised over $1 billion from seed through to Series A and later stage funding – with Current Health, FanDuel, Celtic Renewables, Amiqus, Novosound, Two Big Ears, Speech Graphics, pureLiFi and mLed among EIE alumnus companies.