Welcome to Season 5 of the Cyber Security District Podcast! In this insightful episode, host Laurens Jagt sits down with Marco Riccardi, founder & CEO of QuoIntelligence, a deep-tech startup building Europe’s next-generation threat-intelligence platform. Their discussion covers Marco’s journey from analyst to entrepreneur, the unique challenges of building with a European lens, and the future of AI-powered cyber intelligence.
Meet Marco Riccardi
Marco’s cybersecurity career started at a young age not in a lab, but on the early internet, exploring and experimenting with technology. That curiosity led him into threat intelligence roles at major financial institutions, where he helped build teams analyzing cyber operations at scale.
While leading threat intel functions, Marco saw a growing gap:
“Threat intel was becoming too technical. CISOs need context that applies to their business, not just lists of indicators.”
He founded QuoIntelligence in 2020 to close that gap, focusing on actionable, business-aligned intelligence that security leaders can immediately apply to decision-making.
Why Europe Needs Its Own Intelligence Ecosystem
Marco observes that many threat-intelligence solutions are built outside Europe, often with US-centric data and biases. QuoIntelligence seeks to remedy that by delivering “Finished Intelligence”, combining automation, analyst insight, and a European perspective.
“There’s information everywhere, but very little intelligence.”
He describes how security teams frequently face a flood of alerts without the necessary context to know which ones matter. Analysts waste time on low-value events because they lack prioritization or business-level insight. This leads to a disconnect where companies may appear mature on paper, many tools, large datasets, yet struggle to make decisions grounded in actual risk. The result is frustration, inefficiency, and sometimes critical threats slipping through the cracks.
Marco emphasizes that QuoIntelligence was designed to solve exactly this problem. Rather than adding another layer of noise, the platform focuses on turning raw data into insights that leadership can act on, insights that explain why something matters, how it impacts the business, and what must be done about it.
“If intelligence isn’t helping the business make decisions, then it’s just data.”
By combining automation with expert analyst interpretation, QuoIntelligence delivers clarity and prioritization, enabling organizations to stay ahead of threats rather than constantly reacting to them.
Scaling a Deep-Tech Startup
From hiring to product-market fit, Marco shares the difficult truths of scaling a startup in threat intelligence. He recounts how a minimum-viable product (MVP) at QuoIntelligence resembled a “tricycle” but provided the proof of concept necessary to build momentum.
“Running a company is painful, you need to get comfortable with the pain.”
Despite challenges, QuoIntelligence continues to grow, serving organizations where threat intel directly influences resilience and risk management.
How AI Is Transforming Threat Intelligence
Looking ahead, Marco sees threat intelligence evolving into a strategic business layer: not only detecting threats but predicting them and embedding resilience into operations. AI, he argues, is the tool, but humans remain the differentiator.
“AI will automate what analysts don’t like to do, so humans can focus on what they do best: thinking.”
The episode offers rich insight into how security leaders should prepare: invest in critical thinking, data-driven decision-making and a mindset that treats intelligence as a business-enabler rather than a checkbox.
“Intelligence requires judgment. Machines don’t understand motives.”
Looking Ahead
Marco remains convinced that the next evolution of cybersecurity will be driven by smarter automation, both for defenders and adversaries. As AI accelerates the speed and scale of attacks, organizations will need intelligence that can keep pace and adapt quickly. He predicts a shift toward multidisciplinary security teams that combine technical, analytical, and geopolitical skills. QuoIntelligence is positioning itself at the front of this transformation, focusing on helping European organizations understand not only what is happening, but why it matters and how to respond effectively.
Learn more about QuoIntelligence
Watch the full episode on YouTube:
