NATO Innovation Fund

The NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) was created to supercharge the Alliance’s unique innovation ecosystems. Allied talent and research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are world-leading, but the market to support deep tech innovation is underfunded. With the NIF, they are creating a commercialisation machine in both the private and public sectors, backing innovators to secure the future for the Alliance's 1 billion citizens.

The NIF is a standalone €1 billion venture capital fund supporting ambitious founders developing emerging and disruptive technologies. For them, high-impact verticals include artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, energy & propulsion, manufacturing, and space. They are passionate about autonomy, hypersonics, new materials and quantum, and want to shore up cutting-edge hardware and software.

The NIF will provide Allied innovators in the Participating Allied countries with massive market opportunity, patient capital and technological diligence & validation - tremendous advantages for any deep tech innovator.

Rallying around NATO’s Emerging and Disruptive Technologies (EDTs), their focus will evolve in parallel with today’s rapid innovation environment.

At the 2025 Hague Summit, NATO leaders reaffirmed their commitment to collective defense and agreed to a new defense spending target of 5% of GDP by 2035, with 3.5% allocated to direct military expenses and 1.5% to broader defense-related activities, including innovation and resilience.

NATO’s role extends beyond military action; it also engages in political consultation, crisis management, and partnership-building with non-member countries to promote stability and prevent conflict. The alliance remains a cornerstone of transatlantic security, aiming to protect the freedom and security of over one billion citizens across its member states.