Leaders and Ministers from 22 Allied countries* launched NATO’s Innovation Fund, the world’s first multi-sovereign venture capital fund

On Thursday (30 June 2022), in a signing ceremony sponsored by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Leaders and Ministers from 22 Allied countries* launched NATO’s Innovation Fund, the world’s first multi-sovereign venture capital fund.

NATO Innovation Fund Letter of Commitment signing ceremony with participating Allied Leaders

The NATO Innovation Fund will support the development of emerging technologies that have the potential to transform our security in the coming decades, strengthening the Alliance’s innovation ecosystem and enhancing the security of our one billion citizens, according to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The Fund will put 1 billion euros into early-stage businesses and other venture capital firms creating cutting-edge technology with dual uses that are important to NATO.

These include biotechnology and human enhancement, autonomy, large data processing, quantum-enabled technologies, innovative materials, energy, propulsion, and space.

The Fund will work in tandem with NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic, or DIANA, to assist the creation and application of dual-use emerging technologies to significant security and defense concerns.

The Allies’ agreement that innovators participating in DIANA’s initiatives will have access to a network of more than 63 Test Centers and more than 9 Accelerator Sites throughout Europe and North America is another big step forward for DIANA since the 2022 Madrid Summit.