NATO DIANA Calls Dual Use Tech Start-ups to join the Accelerator Programme
Tech start-ups and now have the opportunity to become part of the unique NATO DIANA accelerator programme. It will bring the companies together with operational end users, scientists, and systems integrators to advance compelling deep tech with dual-use solutions for the Alliance.
Companies accepted into the DIANA accelerator programme gain access to:
- Grants of 100 000 EUR to support technology development and demonstration, and participation in the DIANA accelerator programme.
- 11 accelerators across the Alliance, with more planned over the coming years
- 90+ test centers (with more planned) across the Alliance where entrepreneurs can de-risk, and demonstrate and validate their proposed dual-use technological solutions mentoring from scientists, engineers, industry partners, end users, and government procurement experts
- An investor network for trusted third-party funding
- Opportunities to demonstrate technology in operational environments
- Pathways to market within the NATO enterprise and 31 (soon to be 32) Allied markets
In order to be selected, companies should address one of the following NATO DIANA specific challenges:
1) Energy Resilience - For this challenge, DIANA is seeking technology solutions that enable the modular design of microgrids that can meet supply demands reliably.
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2) Secure Information Sharing - For this challenge, DIANA is looking for ways of creating a secure and trusted information environment – with the emphasis on live data streams such as those used to provide near real-time video, augmented reality feeds, digital radio and more.
3) Sensing and Surveillance - For this challenge, DIANA is seeking components and systems for sensing and information gathering in subsurface coastal zones.
Test Centers
To help innovators selected into our accelerator programme, DIANA leverages test centers located in innovation hubs across the Alliance. The network is evolving constantly, allowing DIANA to match the diverse needs of the programme’s participants. DIANA’s test centers are selected as the very best venues for innovators to develop and evaluate their concepts and technologies.
In 2022 after applying to the International Secretariat of NATO, GATE Institute was selected as a test center in the area of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. We also have an expertise in the field of information and security. We initiated the the first Bulgarian data space.
One of our goals is to build a multidisciplinary expert research group in the field of AI data enrichment and semantic compatibility. We are a partner of The CyberTwin project “Reinforcing the Scientific Excellence and Innovation Capacity in Cyber Security through Twinning”, which aims to boost the scientific excellence and innovation capacity and to increase the international visibility of the Bulgarian project partners in the field of cybersecurity.
In the field of energy infrastructure sustainability and energy efficiency in particular, GATE Institute is involved in the DecarbonAIte project, which aims to extract data on the characteristics of the urban environment from public databases.
Deadline for applications
If you’re an innovator with a disruptive idea for a dual-use solution to the above mentioned challenges, apply by August 25.
DIANA welcomes applications from innovators incorporated in Bulgaria. FYI,?DIANA will be awarding grants of EUR 100,000 (no equity or IP take, and tax exempt) to around 10 companies for each of our 2023 challenges (Energy Resilience, Secure Information Sharing, and well as Underwater Sensing & Surveillance).?So in our 2023 pilot, we aim to offer EUR 100,000 grant awards to around 30 companies. Among them, some companies will be selected for further grant awards of EUR 300,000. And we will ramp up in 2024, with a larger number of challenges on more subjects. It’s also worth noting that companies that make it into DIANA's programme will gain exposure to the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), which is mandated to consider *much* larger, long-term investments for DIANA's cohorts.? For those companies that are selected, participation in DIANA programmes will de-risk investments for the private VC community, as will funding from the NIF. But the deadline is 25 August, so apply now! https://diana.nato.int/challenges.html?