The NATO Innovation Fund, an independent venture capital company backed by 23 NATO Allies announced on Tuesday its first deep technology investments from the EUR1B Fund.
This investment is aimed at boosting defense, security, resilience, and air travel by transforming manufacturing. It also aims to improve air travel, advance AI, and enable autonomous robotic solutions.
“Enabling capital for strategic technologies and supporting them is crucial to ensuring a safe and prosperous tomorrow for the Alliance’s one billion citizens.” Today, we’re proud to announce that we’ve invested in innovative solutions to help address our greatest challenges, boost growth and strengthen defence, security and resilience for future generations,” says Andrea Traversone. Managing Partner of the NATO Innovation Fund
Direct investment in emerging deep-tech startup
Direct investments of the Fund include:
- ARX Robotics manufactures scalable robotic systems that can be deployed in mass for defense, commercial and humanitarian applications.
- Fractileis a company that develops transformative computing technology for collective AI capabilities. This technology allows the largest and most powerful neural networks to run faster, more effectively, and sustainably.
- iCOMAT produces lightweight, stronger and more sustainable structures in aerospace and automotive vehicles. It is also cost-effective.
- Space Forge uses the space environment for manufacturing advanced semiconductor materials to ensure more powerful and resilient capabilities in telecommunications and aerospace.
Dr. Klaus Hommels is the Chair of NATO Innovation Fund. He congratulated NIF’s Investment Team on this significant milestone. This initial portfolio of investments is a good example of NIF’s mission, which is to advance defence, resilience, and security and promote the development dual-use eco-systems across the NATO Alliance.
Supporting venture capital fund managers
The NATO Innovation Fund provides support to venture capital fund managers who invest in early-stage deep technology with a focus of the civilian, defense, and security markets.
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This funding helps expand capacity in regions where there is a high demand for funding, such as Southern Europe and Eastern Europe, and grows deep tech startups ecosystems in the Nordics.
The fund is designed to support expertise and interest across a range of deep technology solutions, including quantum cryptography, AI and space tech.
- Alpine Space Ventures, a fund for early-stage investments in the space sector that draws on over 50 years of experience in the industry, is a fund with specialized expertise. The fund has a portfolio that is focused on supporting startups to deliver important space-enabled technologies.
- OTB ventures is a deep tech fund for early growth (Seed & Series A), based in Central Europe. It focuses on investing in spacetech and enterprise automation and AI, cybersecurity and fintech infrastructure.
- Join Capital Is a Berlin-based venture capital fund that focuses on deep tech investments for industrial and enterprise technology.
- Vsquared ventures invests early-stage deep-tech companies that are developing groundbreaking technology to address some society’s most pressing issues. With a focus on AI and next-gen software as well as energy transition, new computing, sensing, space, robotics, manufacturing, and tech bio.
“Europe’s deeptech industry, powered by a vast talent pool, is ready to tackle global problems through advanced technologies.” Investing in the deeptech sector requires time and skill but offers tremendous opportunities. The NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), established in 2011, highlights the importance of these investments, and provides the know-how needed to bring them to new markets and applications. Adam Niewinski is co-founder and managing partner of OTB Ventures.
What do you need to Know about the NATO Innovation Fund?
The NATO Innovation Fund is backed by 24 NATO Allies and finances innovators in a variety of emerging technology fields, including energy, quantum computer, artificial intelligence (AI), autonomy, novel materials for space, biotechnology, hypersonics, and next generation communications.
The Fund will build on this initial portfolio and provide deep tech entrepreneurs the support they require for up to fifteen years, along with the conviction and agility needed to commercialise their solutions and implement them at scale.