AUSTIN, TEXAS—Dozens of startups have passed through NATO's new technology accelerator, with some making advances that could soon lead to game-changing technologies, according to NATO's director.
“We've seen some very interesting things in the energy resilience space, in sensing and monitoring, and in secure information sharing that could start to be implemented in the world within 24 months. '' Deep Chana, managing director of NATO's North Atlantic Defense Innovation Accelerator (DIANA), said in a speech at Capital Factory House as part of the SXSW mega conference.
“Energy resiliency, especially the things that enable microgrid architectures and enable the generation and storage of energy in remote areas…energy storage technologies, we've seen some really, really promising things. ”
Last year, NATO launched a technology accelerator to bring in top-notch startups.
The goal this year is to graduate that group and for the organization to incorporate lessons from that class into future groups, Chana said.
“We put our first group through the accelerator program, watched them graduate successfully, and learned lessons from that,” he said.
Additionally, there is still work to be done to grow DIANA as an organization, which was launched in 2021 but has been on hiatus for a year, including improving culture, governance, and making it “sustainable and stable for the future.” Chana said.
“This has taken up a lot of my time over the last seven to eight months. It's very innovative,” Chana said.
“So I think over the next year or so we'll have a good portion of the key parts of the organization in place. We've brought in our management team, but we're still hiring quite a bit,” he said over the next year. Told.
DIANA is also building two test centers in Finland focused on 6G secure communications, quantum and space technologies: the Otaniemi office of Finland's VTT Technology Research Center and the University of Oulu.
The organization also hosts several invitation-only industry days to help pair startups with investors and, in some cases, mentors.
“Of course, these companies aren't just after capital. They're also looking for mentors and guides to help them understand what they can do with their particular idea. What's the best path forward? So I think there's a lot that we can expect to gain,'' Chana said.
