Hugo Melvin

The NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) is an independent venture capital firm backed by 24 NATO Allies. With a €1 billion flagship fund, the NIF will invest in advanced science and technology driven enterprises that will enhance our nations’ defence, security and resilience. For us, high-impact verticals include artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, energy & propulsion, materials science, and space. We are passionate about autonomy, new materials and quantum computing, and want to shore up cutting-edge hardware and software. We will directly invest into deep tech driven enterprises, identifying opportunities across all the 24 participating Allied nations, as well as into other funds who will help realise our mission of collective security and prosperity. Over time, the NIF’s investments will attract and encourage more like-minded investors, and help transform how nations and the private sector work together to face emerging challenges.

ANGOKA is an IoT security company focused on protecting M2M communications for Smart Cities and Mobility. Headquartered in Belfast, with offices in London and The Hague, ANGOKA offers solutions that protect devices’ identities. With an increase of inherently insecure networks coming online with the boom of IoT, ANGOKA’s solutions safeguard critical machine-to-machine communication integrity and data provenance, creating trusted connections, even in untrustworthy networks. ANGOKA is the only cybersecurity company to win a place on Zenzic’s CAM Scale-Up Programme, delivered in partnership with Plug and Play. ANGOKA was also the first NI start-up to be selected for NCSC’s Cyber Accelerator, who reviewed and assessed ANGOKA’s technology. ANGOKA is also an alumnus of Seraphim Space Camp, Yes!Delft and TechNation Cyber 2.0. Finally, ANGOKA has been awarded several Innovate UK R&D projects, which focus on securing quantum communications (led by BT) and two drone projects.

A new age for aviation risk management. Transforming aviation risk management through data, technology, expertise, and innovation. Osprey Flight Solutions was founded in 2017 with the goal of providing the most advanced aviation risk analysis available for enabling safer and more secure aviation. Our data-driven approach fuses broad-spectrum open-source data, AI technology and world-leading analysis to deliver instant situational intelligence. This approach allows our clients to make dynamic, well-informed decisions about their risks as they emerge and change. We believe this is the future of aviation safety and security. We are constantly innovating and expanding our capabilities to stay ahead of the curve in a fast-moving, turbulent world. We are here to help you stay safe in an ever-changing world.

A new dimension in industrial intelligence, Smartia is the UK’s leading Industrial Intelligence solution provider, connecting and transforming industrial data into actionable insights. By combining edge computing, a data capture and management system, flexible visualisation technology and AI-driven applications, Smartia’s MAIO technology and services provide a complete end-to-end digital solution for the manufacturing sectors. The team at Smartia have decades of experience in the manufacturing sectors and understand the challenges many manufacturing companies face. Industry 4.0 (also known as Industrial IOT) provides an opportunity to overcome some of these challenges. Every organisation has their own priorities and infrastructure in place, so it is important that a solution provides the flexibility to work within those constraints. Scalability is also a key factor in providing the right solution and Smartia have developed technology solutions that can be deployed across 1000’s of assets when the time is right. Finally once the solution has been deployed, end user adoption is of paramount importance, so making the user experience as simple and trouble free as possible helps to achieve this goal.

Dogtooth Technologies is a Cambridge-based technology start-up that sells smart robots for harvesting soft fruits such as strawberries and raspberries. Our robots use state-of-the-art computer vision and machine learning software to achieve visual acuity, dexterity, and picking speed comparable with that of human pickers.

The NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) is an independent venture capital firm backed by 24 NATO Allies. With a €1 billion flagship fund, the NIF will invest in advanced science and technology driven enterprises that will enhance our nations’ defence, security and resilience. For us, high-impact verticals include artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, energy & propulsion, materials science, and space. We are passionate about autonomy, new materials and quantum computing, and want to shore up cutting-edge hardware and software. We will directly invest into deep tech driven enterprises, identifying opportunities across all the 24 participating Allied nations, as well as into other funds who will help realise our mission of collective security and prosperity. Over time, the NIF’s investments will attract and encourage more like-minded investors, and help transform how nations and the private sector work together to face emerging challenges.

Maven Capital Partners is a leading private equity and alternative asset manager. We have a long-term track record of supporting a range of transaction types, including management buyouts, growth capital, buy-and-build projects, equity value release, and pre-IPO financing—helping ambitious UK companies unlock their potential and accelerate growth. For investors, we provide opportunities to build wealth in private markets through access to deal-by-deal co-investment opportunities in private equity and real estate, as well as tax-efficient investment in a Maven VCT. For more information please visit mavencp.com or call 0141 306 7400

Onstage is a venture platform with reach across the ecosystem, designed to maximise distribution - connecting founders with the right investors, operators, customers, and partners to scale, while also linking GPs with LPs.

ANGOKA is an IoT security company focused on protecting M2M communications for Smart Cities and Mobility. Headquartered in Belfast, with offices in London and The Hague, ANGOKA offers solutions that protect devices’ identities. With an increase of inherently insecure networks coming online with the boom of IoT, ANGOKA’s solutions safeguard critical machine-to-machine communication integrity and data provenance, creating trusted connections, even in untrustworthy networks. ANGOKA is the only cybersecurity company to win a place on Zenzic’s CAM Scale-Up Programme, delivered in partnership with Plug and Play. ANGOKA was also the first NI start-up to be selected for NCSC’s Cyber Accelerator, who reviewed and assessed ANGOKA’s technology. ANGOKA is also an alumnus of Seraphim Space Camp, Yes!Delft and TechNation Cyber 2.0. Finally, ANGOKA has been awarded several Innovate UK R&D projects, which focus on securing quantum communications (led by BT) and two drone projects.

A new age for aviation risk management. Transforming aviation risk management through data, technology, expertise, and innovation. Osprey Flight Solutions was founded in 2017 with the goal of providing the most advanced aviation risk analysis available for enabling safer and more secure aviation. Our data-driven approach fuses broad-spectrum open-source data, AI technology and world-leading analysis to deliver instant situational intelligence. This approach allows our clients to make dynamic, well-informed decisions about their risks as they emerge and change. We believe this is the future of aviation safety and security. We are constantly innovating and expanding our capabilities to stay ahead of the curve in a fast-moving, turbulent world. We are here to help you stay safe in an ever-changing world.