The first multi-sovereign fund? That would be the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF). 

After nearly two years in the works, the defense alliance is pouring $1B into the fund, which plans to invest in early-stage deeptech startups, including tech that could have defense applications.

Who’s involved? 23 countries, including Germany, Spain, Turkey and the UK. Sweden is expected to join following its accession, and will contribute another €40M (around $43.7M)

Canada and the US did not participate, so the fund cannot invest in startups headquartered in those countries. 

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⛓️ Chain reaction

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has highlighted how interdependent European countries are on each other.

• Interrupting production and supply chain in one country causes every other country to feel it too.

Relying too much on a single tech firm for certain services is especially risky, and NATO hopes to manage that risk by diversifying its bets. 

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🛠️ Unchaining Europe

Like a classic VC. They’re expected to lead early-stage deals (pre-seed through Series B) and invest in other funds. 

• First investments will be announced in September and initial checks can be up to €15 million (around $13.7M)

Investing in deep tech. The NIF will focus on principles of “safety, freedom and human empowerment." 

• Some relevant industries: AI and autonomy, biotechnology, quantum computing, space technology and hypersonic systems, energy, new manufacturing and materials, and next-generation communications.

Star-studded founding team. Led by former Amadeus Capital Managing Partner  Andrea Traversone, the team will lead on sourcing and making investments.

• It also includes Kelly Chen (DCVC), Thorsten Claus (Thinkstorm Ventures), Chris O'Connor (Harpoon Ventures) and Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky (Beast Ventures). 

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🔗 New links

On top of the NIF, NATO is looking to broker more engagement with startups through their Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) Accelerator. 

• This accelerator will focus on startups building dual-tech solutions.
• Those that have immediate relevance to NATO’s current operations, as well as long-term ones that might not be currently apparent.