NATO innovation programme DIANA has unveiled its list of 150 firms selected to take part in its 2026 challenges.
DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic) is an ongoing NATO drive to bring new dual-use technologies into the hands of allied defence forces by supporting start-ups and SMEs.
Its 2026 programme is its largest yet and DIANA has just announced the list of 150 firms from 24 nations chosen from more than 3,000 applicants selected to participate in Phase I next year.
Each firm receives €100,000 of contractual funding and is assigned an accelerator site within DIANA’s network. It is offered advice, networking opportunities and workshops to help it engage with government and defence end-users across NATO.
At the end of the process a smaller number of firms with the most promising solutions are chosen for Phase II, which brings up to €300,000 in additional funding and a further six months of support to further develop their products with a view to securing defence contracts.
The ten challenges identified for 2026 encompass the following subject areas: advanced communication technologies; autonomy and unmanned systems; contested electromagnetic environments; critical infrastructure and logistics; data-assisted decision-making; energy and power; human resilience and bio-technology; maritime operations; operations in extreme environments; and resilient space operations.
Fifteen firms have been selected in each of the above categories for Phase I of the 2026 Challenge programme. A full list of the firms is available on the NATO Diana website.
NATO DIANA’s Interim Managing Director James Appathurai commented: “DIANA’s mission is to find the most innovative companies, help them advance their solutions and grow their business, and get the technologies we need into the hands of NATO operators.
“Over the next year, these innovators will accelerate breakthrough technologies that can help to transform how the alliance defends against current and emerging threats.”
- You can read more details on the NATO Diana website