Event Roundup: Innovator x Industry Collider with Apex Defense and NATO DIANA
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On day three of DSEI UK in London, NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) joined Apex Defense to host the 15 companies proceeding to Phase 2 of DIANA’s 2025 cohort.
The event – which took place on the Sunborn Yacht moored beside Excel London – saw the innovators present their cutting-edge solutions to the defense ecosystem comprised of investors, end-users, key defense decision makers and OEM / Primes.
Opening remarks from Apex Defense Product Director, Nick Waite, highlighted the strong overlap between Apex Defense and the NATO DIANA ecosystem in their mission to “bridge the gap between operational need and technological capability”.
This was reaffirmed by DIANA’s Managing Director, James Appathurai, who said that “we seem to have a common perspective on how to address the challenges, and what the challenges should be. So, there's a real commonality here in our two organizations”.
Ahead of the pitches, Appathurai told attendees that “our measure of success in DIANA is companies that succeed in contracts, with funding, with association to larger defense primes, like some of you who are here today”.
A total of 2,600 companies originally applied to join the 2025 intake, with 74 proceeding to Phase 1 before down selection to a final 15 by DIANA program managers.
The 15, whose solutions sit beneath 10 challenge areas, delivered their presentations in around 2 minutes each, covering innovations from energy and power to human resilience and biotechnology.
A networking evening followed, with attendees approaching the companies for more details on the specifics of their solutions.
In his remarks, Appathurai congratulated the companies, saying that “we think you're great. We're going to continue to provide support to you, and we are laser focused on your success”.
Looking to the future, DIANA’s 2026 cohort looks to take in more than double the number of participants it hosted for Phase 1 in 2025, following its achievement of full operating capability this year.
NATO DIANA’s 2025 Phase 2 cohort
- 52 North Health - UK
- A portable sensor for acute radiation syndrome - (Human Health & Performance)
- Alea Quantum Technologies - Denmark
- Faster QRNG for trusted cybersecurity - (Data & Information Security)
- DeltaOrbit GmbH - Germany
- Cryogenic Satellite Propulsion Technologies - (Critical Infrastructure & Logistics)
- IS Wireless Sp. Z o.o. – Poland
- 5G/6G network adaptable to volatile infrastructure – (Data & Information Security)
- Kelluu - Finland
- Ultra-high-resolution aerial data through UAS - (Sensing & Surveillance)
- Kinnami Software Corporation - USA
- Zero-Trust Data Mesh for Trusted, Resilient Data - (Data & Information Security)
- MANITTY - France
- Freely moving smart monitoring -(Human Health & Performance)
- Reaction Dynamics - Canada
- Responsive Launch for a Resilient Space - (Critical Infrastructure & Logistics)
- RVmagnetics, a.s. - Slovakia
- Smart sensors for contactless, real-time monitoring of physical parameter - (Sensing & Surveillance)
- Swaza - USA
- Novel Biomaterial for Enhanced Oxygen Delivery - (Human Health & Performance)
- Tactical Edge Systems - USA
- Robotics refueler for long-range unmanned systems - (Energy & Power)
- Telearmy - Estonia
- Teledrivable technology for existing vehicles - (Critical Infrastructure & Logistics)
- TACTIQL - Canada
- Data assurance for multi-domain sensing - (Data & Information Security)
- Wayren - Estonia
- Next gen communications in challenging environments - (Critical Infrastructure & Logistics)
- Zelim - UK
- Intelligent detection & tracking (Maritime) - (Sensing & Surveillance)
To receive the Fact Sheet with details of the 15 companies, their solutions, and their calls to action, enquire at hello@apexdefense.org.
About DIANA
The DIANA program – which was formally established in 2022 – issues industry challenges, targeting NATO’s key priorities, with EUR100,000 available at Phase 1, and EUR300,000 at Phase 2.
During various phases, participants get the opportunity to test their innovations alongside warfighters, with support from DIANA’s broad network of specialists, including academics and financiers.
This includes access to 17 DIANA accelerator sites and 182 test centers in Europe and North America.
“We are helping these talented innovators fine-tune their technologies and grow their businesses; and we are connecting the companies to end users so that NATO defence ministries can adopt new technologies at the speed of relevance, including through DIANA’s Rapid Adoption Service” – James Appathurai, Managing Director of NATO DIANA.
About Apex Defense
“Apex events are multi-domain, high-level, collaborative and purpose-built to bridge the gap between operational need and technological capability – with a focus on near-term, defence tech and dual-use, whilst making sure we offer better accessibility to small and medium-sized businesses” – Nick Waite, Product Director, Apex Defense.
