NATO has announced the first group of European startup and venture-capital firms that it will invest in as part its EUR1bn Innovation Fund.
The NATO Innovation Fund, which will be officially launched in 2023 is a multi-sovereign venture capital fund. It will support early-stage deep technology startups as well as VCs that are targeting emerging technologies for military and defence applications.
The list of technologies includes AI, big data processing and quantum computing, as well as biotech, novel materials and spacetech. The NIF aims to improve the defence and security for the 24 members of NATO. Its headquarters is located in The Netherlands.
“Enabling capital for strategic technologies and supporting them is crucial to ensuring a safe and prosperous tomorrow for the Alliance’s 1 billion citizens,” said Andrea Traversone.
The first European startups to receive funding
The NIF’s initial investments are focused on AI, robotics and spacetech. Here are the first European startups to receive funding from the fund.
ARX Robotics The German startup is developing modular unmanned robotic vehicles. These are suitable for military and commercial purposes. The vehicles can be controlled remotely and equipped with equipment like mine-sweeping devices and radars.
ARX Robotics, founded in 2022, has built 12 robots, which have been tested by the army forces of Ukraine, Germany Austria, Switzerland and Hungary.
Fractile Artificial Intelligence: A spin-out from the University of Oxford ,the company based in London builds computer chips that it claims enable large language models to run faster. The startup’s technology boosts AI by running the operations required for model interference in RAM.
iCOMAT :Founded by a UK startup in 2019, iCOMAT is a manufacturer of ultralight materials for the aerospace sector and automotive sector.
The company developed, a fully automated production process that turns carbon fiber into composite materials up to 65% lighter compared to the materials currently used.
Fuel consumption is reduced when vehicles such as fighter jets are lighter.
Space Forge : The Welsh firm aims to establish reusable manufacturing capabilities on-orbit that harness the conditions in space environments, including microgravity.
It focuses on production of semiconductor materials used in critical infrastructure. Use cases range from aerospace to quantum computing and telecommunications.
NATO invests in four VC companies
The NIF also funds four European venture capital firms which are supporting early-stage deep technology startups with a particular focus on the defence and security markets. These are Alpine Space Ventures (ASV), OTB Ventures (OTB), Join Capital and Vsquared Ventures.
The fund will invest EUR1bn over a period of 15 years and it appears that Europe will receive further support.
The Financial Times quoted Traversone as saying: “The market for defence technology has grown dramatically in the last three or four years, and we all know the reasons.
He said that the trend began in the US but that Europe is now catching-up quickly.