A consortium of NATO allies has confirmed the first tranche of companies to receive funding under the group’s €1 billion ($1.1 billion) innovation fund.
The alliance unveiled the fund in the summer of 2022, months after Russia invaded Ukraine, promising to invest in technology that would improve its defenses. The fund is supported by 24 of NATO’s 32 member states, including Finland and Sweden, which joined the alliance earlier this year.
On Tuesday, the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) confirmed that it has invested directly in four European technology companies that it says will help address defense, security and resilience challenges.
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These are the companies that benefit from the NATO fund
The agency awarded funding to Fractile, a London-based computer chip maker that aims to make large language models (LLMs) like those powering ChatGPT work faster, and Germany’s ARX Robotics, which designs unmanned robots with functions ranging from lifting heavy loads to tracking. .
The other two startups were British manufacturer iCOMAT, which makes lighter materials for vehicles, and Space Forge, a Welsh company that uses space conditions (such as microgravity and vacuum) to manufacture semiconductors in orbit.
“Enabling access to strategic technologies is key to ensuring a secure and prosperous future for the alliance’s billion citizens,” said Andrea Traversone, Managing Partner of the Fund.
The fund has also partnered with venture capital firms Alpine Space Ventures, OTB Ventures, Join Capital and Vsquared Ventures to support further deep technology investments on the continent.
With information from Reuters
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