Out of thousands of applicants from the 32 NATO member countries, only 150 were selected. Two are Portuguese companies: Connect Robotics, a graduate of UPTEC – Science Park of the University of Porto, and Neuraspace, currently incubated at UPTEC.
In the North Atlantic Defence Innovation Accelerator (DIANA), companies will develop their dual-use technologies with access to an initial investment of €100,000, a network of more than 180 NATO test centres to validate the technology in real operational environments and, later, the possibility of competing for additional funding of up to €300,000.
Integration into NATO’s DIANA accelerator will enable Neuraspace to collaborate directly with the Alliance in developing critical technologies for resilient space operations. The aim is to ensure that the company’s solutions, focused on using artificial intelligence to help satellites respond autonomously to threats such as cybersecurity attacks or collisions, meet NATO’s specific operational needs.
Meanwhile, Connect Robotics aims to strengthen and adapt its autonomous logistics technology to the defence sector, enabling precision deliveries in disaster scenarios or conflict zones without putting human lives at risk in supply lines. Building on solutions already validated in the civilian market, such as medical deliveries, logistics and infrastructure inspection, the company’s approach is based on a drone-agnostic platform, independent of drone manufacturers, allowing equipment already in use to be transformed into interoperable logistics platforms through its drone management system.
In addition to initial funding, validation and operational testing, the programme will offer participants privileged access to NATO’s innovation ecosystem, experts, test centres and investors in deep tech and defence.
In the case of Neuraspace, DIANA complements projects already underway that are financed by European and national funds, allowing it to strengthen the defence aspect in space and the dual-use nature of its platform, while strengthening the commercial products it already has on the market.
Connect Robotics, which already collaborates with the Portuguese Armed Forces and operates in the health and industry sectors, will now focus on significant geographical expansion into NATO markets, with an initial presence in Ireland and plans to enter Germany, taking advantage of the visibility and credibility provided by its integration into the accelerator.
