UK companies selected for NATO innovation challenge

The Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) works with leading researchers and entrepreneurs across the Alliance, helping them develop technologies to keep NATO populations safe and secure.

DIANA is celebrating a key milestone by selecting 44 of the most promising applicants from across the Alliance to join its pilot challenge cohorts. The cohorts will embark on an intensive six-month program to turn their businesses into promising enterprises. DIANA brings together universities, industry and governments to work with startups and other innovators to solve strategic dual-use defense and security challenges, growing a new generation of NATO innovators.

The 44 successful companies from across the Alliance have been assigned to one of five acceleration sites chosen for the pilot program: Tallinn, Estonia; Turin, Italy; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Boston and Seattle in the United States. Starting in January 2024, companies will embark on the program that has been tailored for early-stage dual-use startups.

For the call for the 2023 pilot challenge, DIANA focused on three areas:

• Energy resilience: providing resilient energy in the event of disaster or conflict
• Detection and Surveillance: Underwater Information Collection
• Secure information exchange: provide trusted data anywhere

Through a combination of seminars, workshops and mentorships, companies will gain a comprehensive understanding of the dual-use landscape and learn how to successfully navigate the commercial and defense markets. At the same time, they will have the opportunity to refine their technologies and products through access to DIANA's network of test centers, which comprises more than 200 world-leading technical test facilities.

The most promising companies will then graduate to an additional six-month program of tailored support and additional grants. All innovators selected for the DIANA program will help maintain NATO's technological advantage by enhancing the allied innovation ecosystem.

Defense Procurement Minister James Cartlidge said:

The DIANA program encapsulates the collaborative spirit of the NATO alliance, with creative minds joining forces to develop cutting-edge technologies to strengthen our defense and security capabilities.

By supporting these pioneering ideas, we strengthen our alliance, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of innovation to safeguard the collective peace and security of our member countries.

The seven British companies chosen for the DIANA program are:

Anzen Technology Systems

London-based Anzen Technology Systems is an SME developing privacy technology that anonymizes information and splits it into discrete data sets (data chunks), which are then distributed and stored in different locations.

Aquark Technologies

Aquark Technologies, located in Hampshire, is a spin-out company from the University of Southampton providing portability and miniaturization solutions for quantum technology applications.

AVoptics

AVoptics is a Yeovil based SME specializing in providing photonics solutions designed for use in harsh environments.

Goldilocks for sure

Based in Wolverhampton, Goldilock Secure is developing solutions that enable physical segmentation of networks and digital assets remotely, without reliance on the Internet.

Grayscale AI

Grayscale AI, a London-based SME, produces optimization-based artificial intelligence, intended to mimic the neural network of a human being.

mentioned

Based in London, IONATE is a technology company developing next-generation hybrid smart transformers that target flexibility and resilience at strategic points in the electricity system.

SECQAI

SECQAI is a London-based SME focusing on next-generation cryptography using quantum random number generation.

ENDS

Notes to editors

• Of the seven companies, three have managed to receive funding from the Defense and Security Accelerator (DASA); Anzen, AVoptics and Goldilock technology systems.
• You can find more information on three strategic focus areas for 2023: energy resilience, secure information sharing, and detection and surveillance. here.
• You can find more information about DIANA. here.