San Francisco – April 8, 2025 – Metalware, the firmware cybersecurity company, has been named one of the Top 10 Finalists for the 20th annual RSAC™ 2025 Conference Innovation Sandbox contest for its work delivering an automated, intelligent binary fuzzer for critical infrastructure. Metalware will present its technology to a panel of renowned industry judges and a live in-person audience on Monday, April 28 at RSAC 2025 Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
The RSAC™ Innovation Sandbox contest, celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2025, has become the world’s premier showcase for the cybersecurity startup community as promising young cybersecurity companies showcase their groundbreaking technologies and compete for the title of “Most Innovative Startup.” The competition is widely recognized as a catapult for success as the Top 10 Finalists have collectively celebrated more than 90 acquisitions and received $16.4 billion in investments over the last 19 years. Metalware will have three minutes to pitch the panel of judges before a question-and-answer round. For the first time, each of the Top 10 Finalists in 2025 will receive a $5 million investment to drive cybersecurity innovation.
“As we enter a new age of threats, innovation and new technologies are critical to achieving a safer society,” said Cecilia Marinier, Vice President, Innovation & Scholars, RSAC. “The RSAC™ Innovation Sandbox contest is an unparalleled opportunity for both the industry and the entrepreneur to highlight industry-changing solutions, companies, and entrepreneurs.”
Firmware underpins nearly every aspect of our lives, from warfighters defending our national security and medical devices ensuring public health and safety to satellites powering global communications and factories driving our economy. The threat landscape changed dramatically in 2010 with Stuxnet, one of the first known cyberattacks involving firmware. At the time, such an attack required immense resources, typically available only to nation-states.
Today, this is commonplace. The barrier for firmware attacks has lowered significantly due to advanced tools, readily available resources, and the rise of AI. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security explicitly warned about firmware as a "single point of failure" for critical infrastructure. NIST’s vulnerability database shows that firmware attacks have surged fivefold over the past few years.
Metalware’s automated binary fuzzing platform drastically simplifies how enterprises and governments test firmware to secure critical infrastructure at scale. Metalware operates without complicated setup, hardware, test harnesses, or manual instrumentation and integrates into the development process, significantly reduces the time, cost, and technical expertise required to secure firmware.
"Unlike traditional firmware scanners, Metalware uniquely combines automated firmware emulation with intelligent fuzzing. It doesn’t just scan firmware – it actually runs and attacks it, just like a hacker would, but in a safe controlled environment that provides you with actionable insights,” said Ryan Chow, Co-Founder and CEO of Metalware.
The RSAC™ Innovation Sandbox contest kicks off at 9:30 AM PT on Monday, April 28 and winners will be announced at approximately noon the same day. The panel of renowned expert judges includes David Chen, Head of Global Technology Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley; Dorit Dor, Chief Technology Officer at Check Point Software Technologies; Niloofar Razi Howe, Operating Partner at Capitol Meridian Partners; Paul Kocher, Independent Researcher; Nasrin Rezai, SVP & CISO at Verizon; and Christopher Young, Investor and former CEO at McAfee and former Microsoft Exec; Hugh Thompson, RSAC™ Executive Chairman and Program Committee Chair of RSAC™ Conference, will return to host the contest.
For more information regarding RSAC™ 2025 Conference, taking place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco from April 28 - May 1, please visit https://www.rsaconference.com/usa.
About Metalware
Metalware develops advanced firmware security solutions for critical infrastructure, protecting industries like aerospace, defense, automotive, telecom, and healthcare from cyber threats. Our product is an automated, intelligent binary fuzzer that enables organizations to efficiently discover and remediate security weaknesses in hardware systems and supply chain before deployment. Metalware is based in San Francisco and was founded by firmware experts from SpaceX, L3Harris, Northrop Grumman, and Intel.
About RSAC
As the cybersecurity industry’s convening authority, RSAC brings together diverse minds to exchange perspectives, knowledge, and ideas. RSAC provides the world’s leading platform for uniting and advancing the cybersecurity community to create a safer society. RSAC is at the cutting edge of cybersecurity innovation and education. The company’s flagship event, RSAC™ Conference, is the largest and most influential global gathering in cybersecurity. RSAC gives cybersecurity professionals a platform to connect and grow. To learn more, visit OneRSAC.com.
Media Contacts:
Ryan Chow
press@metalware.com
301-465-0611
