New York, Jan 5, 2026, 13:02 EST — Regular session
- CrowdStrike shares were up about 1.4% as the company unveiled its 2026 cybersecurity startup accelerator cohort with AWS and Nvidia.
- The eight-week program runs through March 3 and culminates with finalist pitches at RSA Conference on March 24, the company said.
- Cybersecurity peers were also higher in midday trading.
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. shares rose on Monday after the cybersecurity firm said it and partners Amazon Web Services and Nvidia had selected 35 startups for a 2026 cybersecurity startup accelerator. Shares were up 1.4% at $459.81 as of 1:02 p.m. EST, having traded between $454.58 and $466.39.
The announcement matters now because investors have been rewarding software names tied to corporate spending on artificial intelligence — and the security tools needed to protect it. For CrowdStrike, showcasing deeper work with AWS and Nvidia helps reinforce its pitch that modern security is being built alongside cloud and AI infrastructure.
Startup accelerators are essentially short, structured mentoring programs for early-stage companies, often used to seed partnerships and product integrations. CrowdStrike and larger tech partners can use them to shape where new security workloads land as enterprises roll out AI systems at scale.
CrowdStrike said the free, eight-week program runs through March 3 and offers mentorship, technical expertise, funding and go-to-market support, before a pitch day for five finalists at the RSA Conference in San Francisco on March 24. “The Cybersecurity Startup Accelerator has become a launchpad for the next era of AI-driven security innovators,” Daniel Bernard, CrowdStrike’s chief business officer, said in a statement. CrowdStrike
The company said one innovation award winner could be in line for investment from the CrowdStrike Falcon Fund. CrowdStrike describes the Falcon Fund as an investment fund it manages with Accel, focused on strategic co-investments that add capabilities for shared customers.
The move in CrowdStrike came alongside gains across the cybersecurity group. Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler and Fortinet were all higher in midday trade, and the Amplify Cybersecurity ETF was also up.
Still, accelerator headlines rarely change near-term revenue on their own, and the stock has little margin for disappointment after a strong run. Any sign that enterprise security budgets are tightening, or that customers are slowing module add-ons, can hit high-multiple cybersecurity names quickly, especially as competition stays intense.
What investors watch next is the cadence of follow-on announcements — partnerships, pilot deployments and any Falcon Fund investments tied to the cohort — as the program runs into early March. The next visible checkpoint is the March 24 RSA pitch day, when CrowdStrike and its partners plan to spotlight finalists and pick a winner.
Related articles: NASDAQ:CRWD
