One of the first NATO innovation accelerators will operate in Estonia

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By RockedBuzz 4 Min Read

One of the first five NATO innovation accelerators will start work in Estonia this year, the trial year of the DIANA project, the Estonian Ministry of Economy and Communications announced.

NATO flag.
NATO flag. Photo: Shutterstock

One of the first five NATO innovation accelerators will start work in Estonia this year, the trial year of the DIANA project, the Estonian Ministry of Economy and Communications announced.

Companies can apply for a place in the accelerator this summer before the NATO summit in Vilnius in mid-July.

Apart from Estonia, the first NATO innovation accelerators will be opened this year in the Italian city of Turin, the Danish capital of Copenhagen, as well as in the US cities of Seattle and Boston.

Tallinn will also house DIANA’s European headquarters.

In Estonia, the accelerator will be implemented by the science and business park “Tehnopol” in Tallinn, the Tartu Science Park and the business accelerator “Startup Wiseguys”. It aims to support high-tech startups that contribute to national security and defense by bringing together talented innovators and end-users of emerging technologies.

The accelerator will develop dual applicability technologies that can be used for both civilian and defense purposes. The NATO Accelerator in Estonia is being created for local and regional start-ups so that they can develop their product and business model, as well as find partners in the alliance’s defense market, which is usually difficult to enter.

The DIANA accelerator network will be able to use the infrastructure of the University of Tartu, Tallinn University of Technology, CR14 foundation, Estonian Defense Academy, Milrem Robotics company, Estonian Aviation Academy and Estonian Academy of Security Sciences. Also, companies will have access to almost a hundred testing centers in NATO member states.

In the first pilot year, a few dozen start-ups in all accelerators will receive NATO funding for the development of their ideas.

The DIANA program consists of two six-month phases. After the first six months, only the most promising startups will continue to operate in each of the accelerators, receiving additional funding.

At the end of last year, NATO approved the strategic areas of the DIANA Board of Directors for 2023, which include security of energy supplies, secure data exchange, identification and monitoring. At the beginning of the summer, a competition for startup ideas for solutions in these areas will be announced.

DIANA’s charter stipulates that the aim of the initiative is to promote cooperation between member states, the private sector and the academic environment. The projects will focus on the development of artificial intelligence, big data processing, quantum technologies, biotechnology, new materials and space technologies.

The countries of the North Atlantic Alliance have also agreed on a multinational NATO Innovation Fund, through which one billion euros will be invested in new start-ups and other advanced technology companies.

The creation of DIANA was approved in June 2021.

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