Companies in the Estonian DIANA accelerator to receive 900,000 euros in additional funding from NATO

NATO DIANA named the ten most successful startups from the first phase of the accelerator, which between them received 3 million euros in additional funding. There were 44 companies that participated in the first phase of the pilot year of DIANA, of which nine attended the Estonian DIANA accelerator. Three of the startups in the Estonian accelerator are advancing to the new growth phase of DIANA, and each will get an additional grant of 300,000 euros.

“It is very good to see that a third of the startup companies from the Estonian accelerator have progressed to the new growth phase. This shows how important it is in developing dual-use technologies to provide an international platform for talent. The NATO DIANA accelerator is a good example of how startup businesses and the research-intensive defence industry can come together, because together they can help our economy grow and increase our security”, said Minister of Economy and Industry Erkki Keldo.

The innovative companies selected for the growth phase of DIANA will get additional financial support and a specially tailored programme that has been created to increase their success in developing their business and entering the market. The companies were selected after a thorough assessment process that analysed the potential of their technology, their commercial progress and plans, their opportunity for entering the market, and their fit with the needs of the alliance. The companies that did not get through to the next phase of the accelerator can join the steadily growing DIANA community and be part of a strong ecosystem stretching across 32 nations.

Head of the Tehnopol Startup Incubator and the NATO DIANA Estonian accelerator Anne-Liisa Elbrecht said that the selection proves the strength of the Tehnopol accelerator programme. “All nine of the companies that were in our accelerator were strong and made great leaps in development in their business during the programme. That a third of them were chosen for the growth phase shows the superbly high level of our programme, our mentors and our team”, she said. She added that leading the NATO DIANA accelerator fits with the Tehnopol aim of supporting world-changing technologies and innovation.

The companies that made it through to the next phase from the Estonian DIANA accelerator were Goldilock, Revobeam and Lobster Robotics. The British company Goldilock is developing a patented cyber security tool for protecting critical assets and data. By physically segmenting digital assets and networks without using the internet, Goldilock ensures that those networks and assets remain secure, undetectable, and inaccessible to enemies. The Dutch company Lobster Robotics is developing autonomous, lightweight, cost-effective and extraordinarily precise underwater robots for photographing the seabed, giving a quantitative picture through visual mapping. The Polish company Revobeam is focused on developing energy-efficient, resilient and cheap antennae that are designed for unmanned platforms and IoT devices, and give them protection against hybrid attacks and increase the area coverage for wireless communications.

“We are proud to be part of the NATO DIANA ecosystem and it is amazing and exciting that after an intense and rewarding six months at the DIANA accelerator in Tehnopol, we can continue our journey and enter the GROW phase. Expanding the existing network that we built during the acceleration phase and facing new opportunities will make a significant difference as we continue to scale and develop our antennas, which will make a difference in the face of the security and defence challenges of today. We look forward to working with the DIANA team over the coming months to drive the commercialisation and adoption of our innovation and finally build a solid business in the defence market”, said Mateusz Rzymowski, CEO of Revobeam.

“We have learned so much in the accelerator. It took six months but it felt a lot longer, and the Tehnopol accelerator played a big part in that. Tallinn is our second home now, and the cohort is a tight community. And our hard work has paid off, since selection for the Grow programme means we have got the tools that we need to keep up the pace set during the accelerator, and to capitalise on the many testing, demo and commercial opportunities that we have ahead of us”, said Stephan Rutten, Co-Founder and CEO of Lobster Robotics.

There were 2613 applications submitted to the NATO DIANA accelerator from 30 countries, with 74 companies from Estonia applying. The 2025 DIANA cohort will start in January.

The NATO DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic) accelerator in Estonia is led by the Tehnopol Startup Incubator working together with Sparkup Tartu Science Park, and the business accelerator Startup Wiseguys. The funding to start the accelerator in Estonia comes from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence and the city of Tallinn. Estonian contributors to building the pan-Alliance network of testing centres are TalTech, the University of Tartu, Foundation CR14, the National Defence College, the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences, the Estonian Aviation Academy, and Metrosert.