NATO DIANA’s third cohort brings a strong focus on maritime and autonomous technologies to Estonia

Today, NATO DIANA announced the companies selected for the third year of their accelerator programme. The cohort will include three companies from Estonia. The NATO DIANA accelerator in Estonia is run by Tehnopol in cooperation with Sparkup Tartu Science Park. 

In its third year, 16 accelerator sites are operating across the Alliance, compared with 13 last year and five in the pilot year. A total of 3,680 technological solutions applied for the 2026 innovation accelerator, with 150 companies from 24 NATO member states selected. Twelve of these companies will conduct their development work in Estonia.

All companies admitted to the accelerators across the Alliance are developing high-potential dual-use technologies with applications in both everyday civilian life and the defence domain. This year’s selected companies offer solutions in ten fields: energy and power, advanced communication technologies, contested electromagnetic environments, human resilience and biotechnologies, critical infrastructure and logistics, operations in extreme environments, maritime operations, resilient space operations, autonomy and unmanned systems, and data assisted decision making. The challenges for tackling critical defence and security problems were defined jointly by all Allied nations.

“Estonia’s success in the NATO DIANA accelerator demonstrates the strength and forward-looking nature of our technology sector. Our size gives us the flexibility and collaborative mindset that create new opportunities for the growth of both the defence industry and the wider economy,” said Estonia’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry, Erkki Keldo.

All teams participating in the Estonian accelerator will receive €100,000 in contractual funding from NATO DIANA, with the best able to secure up to an additional €300,000 in the second phase of the programme. They will also have access to more than 200 test centres, a programme connecting defence and business sectors, and a network of top mentors across the Alliance. DIANA builds a bridge between universities, companies and the public sector, supporting the development and deployment of innovative technologies that address both civilian and defence-sector challenges and guide us towards a more secure and sustainable future.

“Innovation and rapid capability development are critical in the defence domain. It is a great honour and privilege for Estonia to contribute to the innovation accelerator by providing a fertile environment for developing and testing advanced technologies. The steps we take today will play an invaluable role in NATO’s defence tomorrow,” said Estonia’s Minister of Defence, Hanno Pevkur.

The NATO DIANA accelerator in Estonia is led by Tehnopol, the largest science and business park in the Baltics, whose strengths lie in deep expertise in the startup sector and long-standing experience in supporting the growth of technology-driven companies.

According to Anne-Liisa Elbrecht, Head of the NATO DIANA Estonia Accelerator and Tehnopol Startup Incubator, supporting companies developing breakthrough technologies helps shape a safer tomorrow. “Our ambition is to provide the companies joining the Estonian accelerator with maximum value and bring innovation into the defence and dual-use domain,” Elbrecht said. She added that the decision to entrust the NATO DIANA Estonia accelerator with as many as 12 innovative ideas, including four from the maritime sector, reflects the strength of Estonia’s position within the NATO DIANA network.

The following companies will begin their work in the NATO DIANA Estonia Accelerator: Blue Team Intelligence B.V., MAPS Messaging BV (both Netherlands), Datambit (United Kingdom), VIG-SEC DRONE S.L. (Spain), Aereus (Germany), CulturePulse (Slovakia), HIGHTEK SRL, EYE-TECH SRL (both Italy), Optisense dba SkyFi (USA), Datifex, Inc. (Canada), Quantum Quest (Poland) and Unplugged (Norway).

Three Estonian companies are participating in this year’s NATO DIANA accelerator programme:

• C2Grid provides rapid, AI-enhanced 3D situational awareness by transforming video material into interactive, multi-layered visual intelligence.
• Spacedrip offers low-maintenance wastewater treatment and water reuse solutions designed for fast deployment and convenient remote monitoring.
• LSMedical’s precision-engineered magnets deliver superior performance with rare earth-free technology.

The companies will begin their development work in the accelerators in December. In addition to Estonia, NATO DIANA accelerators operate in Denmark, Italy, Czechia, the Netherlands, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Greece, Canada, the United States, Latvia, Finland, Spain and Poland.

The accelerator in Estonia is run Tehnopol together with Sparkup Tartu Science Park. It is funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence and the city of Tallinn. 

More information: www.diana.nato.int