Video On Demand

Funding Allied Innovation: Ensuring Advanced Capabilities for the Future Warfighter

November 7, 2024 • 1:00 – 2:00 pm EST

Locating and funding pathbreaking innovation to bring new capabilities to military forces is an enduring and pervasive challenge. The Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group (DIIG) at CSIS is bringing together leaders from three investment and innovation organizations that are focused on equipping the warfighter with breakthrough technology to share their approaches and lessons learned.  DIIG Director Dr. Cynthia R. Cook will moderate a livestream panel featuring Ms. Barbara McQuiston, Chair of the DIANA Board of Directors, Dame Fiona E. Murray, Ph.D., Vice Chairman of NIF and Associate Dean of Innovation and Inclusion at MIT, and Dr. Jason Rathje, OSC Director, for a livestream discussion exploring the recent work and the common mission of the 3 organizations, advancing dual-use deep tech for the warfighter. 

NATO’s Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) is a funding tool and network of over 200 accelerator sites and test centers with the goal of connecting start-ups in dual-use deep tech to operational end-users and accelerating the development of these technologies. The NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) is a venture capital fund supported by 24 NATO allies channeling 1 billion Euros into dual-use deep tech with priority placed on companies within the DIANA accelerator. The U.S. DOD’s Office of Strategic Capital builds partnerships and executes strategies to grow private investment in 31 technology areas, including the 14 DoD critical technologies. OSC issues loans and loan guarantees to support investments by venture capital in technologies critical to supply chains and the U.S. defense industrial base. 

This virtual event is made possible through general support to CSIS.

Contact Information

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Dr. Jason Rathje

Dr. Jason Rathje

Director, Office of Strategic Capital, U.S. Department of Defense
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Cynthia Cook
Director, Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group and Senior Fellow, Defense and Security Department