NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator (DIANA) 2026 cohort

The NATO DIANA accelerator has announced its third annual set of challenges and opened a new call for applications.

Selected companies will receive €100,000 in contractual funding, with top performers eligible for up to an additional €300,000 in the next programme phase. Participants will also gain access to over 180 test centres, a tailored programme bridging defence and commercial sectors, and a network of top-tier mentors from across the Alliance. DIANA offers support and connections to help civilian-sector companies enter the traditionally high-barrier defence market.

Applications for the DIANA accelerator are open until 11 July. The 6-month programme will begin in January 2026. All dual-use deep tech companies registered in a NATO member state are eligible to apply.

This year, DIANA is seeking innovative deep tech solutions in ten focus areas: 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. For full details of each challenge, visit the DIANA website or follow NATO DIANA on LinkedIn for regular updates.

NATO DIANA is also organising webinars for potential applicants, and recordings of past webinars are available:

• Webinar 1: Introducing DIANA’s Challenge Call for the 2026 Cohort
• Webinar 2: Challenge Topics + Tips for a Successful Proposal

The next webinar, on Understanding Dual-Use Technologies, will be held on Thursday 19 June at 3pm BST – click here to register for a place.