Janus: December Newsletter

This edition, we celebrate Janus’ first full year of operations - a milestone that reflects the growing momentum behind dual-use innovation and collaboration across defence and industry.

From quantum technologies and cyber resilience to procurement reform and accelerator programmes, the pace of change is accelerating and so are the opportunities. This edition looks back at the year’s achievements and forward to what’s next - including Janus’ second year part of the NATO DIANA network, representing the United Kingdom amongst 16 other activated accelerator sites across the 32 nations.

Featured in this newsletter:

• Janus: Building momentum in our first year – 2025 highlights

• NATO DIANA 2026 Programme innovator announcement

• Highlights and reflections from the Defence Technology Exploitation Programme (DTEP) finale

• Insights from Janus Pathfinder: From workbench to warfighter pathfinder

• Podcast feature on DefenceTalks - Strengthening deterrence: accelerating innovation across NATO

• In other news: UK Autumn budget 2025, the White House national security strategy report, Quantum Systems triples valuation and DSEI Gateway 2026 event.

Janus: Building momentum in our first year

2025 marked the inaugural year of Janus, the accelerator and ecosystem for dual-use and defence, in partnership with the Defence and Security Accelerator, part of UK Defence Innovation (UKDI-DASA).

We have engaged with 1,240+ participants (over 200 startups and scaleups) across 14 ecosystem events, fostering collaboration and creating opportunities for growth and impact.

The Janus Pathfinder series delivered six high-value sessions designed to offer clear guidance to startups and scaleups on navigating the defence market - each attracting 150+ leaders across government, academia and industry.

A standout achievement was the NATO DIANA Challenge Call information webinar, which drew an exceptional 350+ attendees. We are really thrilled to see 10 companies who joined us on the call confirmed as innovators on the NATO DIANA 2026 cohort.

As we look ahead to 2026, our focus is to expand the ecosystem, deepen partnerships and accelerate innovation across defence and dual-use technologies.

Follow us on LinkedIn to stay up to date with upcoming ecosystem events.

NATO DIANA 2026 Programme innovator announcement

This year the programme received a record-breaking 3,680 submissions across all NATO member states for the challenge call. The cohort of 150 innovators has emerged from a highly selective process, placing them in roughly the top 4% of applicants and among the most competitive dual-use innovators in the Alliance.

We welcome eight companies to the UK:

• LSMedical from Estonia

• Slipstream Design from the United Kingdom

• FOSSA Systems from Spain

• Tern AI Inc. from the United States of America

• Testnor AS from Norway

• Oledcomm from France

• SDQ Solutions Canada from Canada

• CX2 Inc. from the United States of America

Over the next six months, innovators will work closely with our team and partners to support scaling up their solutions and accelerate adoption across the Alliance.

Learn more about all the innovators

Janus official press release

Defence Technology Exploitation Programme (DTEP) Finale

Earlier this month, we congratulated the nine companies who completed the DTEP follow-on programme.

The initial UKDI-DASA programme was about entering the UK supply chain through partnerships with larger existing defence suppliers who are already invested in UK defence. Companies who completed DTEP then joined our follow-on programme focused on helping SMEs build on their learning and prepare for the final push. 

Over the past six weeks, participants have gained a strong understanding of how to navigate the route to market, identify target customers, meet defence-specific accreditation standards and position themselves for success in the UK defence supply chain.

Congratulations to the entire cohort on completing the accelerator programme:

• Ethicronics – Securing defence hardware from silicon to system

• HTMS – Advanced materials for defence and beyond

• Scisemi – High-integrity computing for secure defence communications

•  Nquiringminds – Secure edge intelligence for defence

• Mind Foundry – AI-driven intelligence for defence operations

• ISS Aerospace – Autonomous systems for mission success

• Kognitiv Spark – Mixed reality for defence readiness

• Silicon Microgravity – Precision navigation for GPS-denied operations

• VRAI – Data-driven virtual reality training

The finale event featured John Cunningham, Director of Defence Innovation at the MOD, a dynamic panel featuring Andrew Van Der Lem (Head of Defence, Faculty AI), Vito Tomasi (Managing Director, Quantum Systems) and Edward Ebbern (Co-founder, MD One Ventures), led by Tanya Suarez (CEO of IoT Tribe) and concluded with General Sir Richard Barrons KCB CBE, principal military author of the Strategic Defence Review.

A special thank you to Taylor Wessing for hosting this finale event.

Janus Pathfinder: From workbench to warfighter – building tech that matters

For the final pathfinder of the year, “From workbench to warfighter – building tech that matters”, we tackled one of the most popular questions for dual-use defence startups: How can innovators ensure alignment with the end user?

In a conversation led by Tanya Suarez, CEO and founder of IoT Tribe and Chris Manuel, former US Army Special Forces operator, aerospace VP and founder of defence tech ventures including Rover, Simple Key Loader (SKL) and Tactinet. Drawing on his extensive experience, Chris shared practical strategies for bridging the gap between innovation and operational readiness.

His three take-ways for building tech that matters for the warfighter:

• Use visualisation tools - Defence leaders often struggle to grasp unfamiliar technologies. Startups must present clear, solution-oriented visuals, not just technical specifications.

• Bridge the developer–operator gap - Engineers need to understand system shortcomings under battlefield conditions, while operators must recognise that innovation is iterative and early-stage technologies may not be perfect.

• Protect your core IP - Develop your “secret sauce” with your own resources to retain ownership. This ensures flexibility to adapt and expand into new markets in the future.

Startups in this space face unique challenges, from safeguarding intellectual property to proving warfighting readiness. Sessions like this help innovators navigate these complexities and accelerate impact. Is there a topic you would like us to cover in 2026? Send us your ideas to [email protected]

DefenceTalks - Strengthening deterrence: accelerating innovation across NATO

A DefenceTalks podcast from the Council on Geostrategy examines how the UK can strengthen deterrence while accelerating innovation in defence. The conversation with Viktorija Starych-Samuoliene and Paul Mason featured John Ridge from NATO Innovation Fund and Tanya Suarez - who shared practical steps to modernise procurement and foster collaboration across the defence ecosystem.

Achieving this requires three critical shifts:

• Speeding up procurement to incentivise startups and reduce barriers to entry.

• Creating flexibility in requirements so innovation is not constrained by rigid specifications.

• Focusing on performance over paperwork, ensuring the best technology succeeds under test conditions rather than through lengthy tender processes.

Listen to the full episode here: Geostrategy’s DefenceTalks full podcast

In other news

1. The UK Government’s Autumn Budget sets out measures aimed at driving economic growth and strengthening national resilience. Key priorities include investment in advanced manufacturing, green energy and technology innovation, alongside commitments to defence and security. The budget also outlines plans to support SMEs through targeted funding and improve procurement processes to accelerate adoption of new technologies.

2. The United States released the 2025 National Security Strategy, outlining priorities to strengthen deterrence, accelerate innovation and build resilience across critical domains. The strategy emphasises investment in emerging technologies such as AI, autonomy, cyber resilience and space systems, alongside deepening partnerships with allies to maintain technological advantage.

3. Quantum Systems announced a €180M Series C extension led by Balderton Capital, taking its 2025 total to €340M and tripling its valuation to €3B+. The company says the funds will accelerate a multi-domain expansion across air, land and maritime. Also, it will support further M&A after integrating AirRobot, Nordic Unmanned, and Spleenlab earlier this year. Its platforms are reported to be in use with NATO partners, including operations in Ukraine.

4. An upcoming webinar hosted by Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) on January 20, will examine how Oxford Dynamics became the first UK SME to secure an Enterprise Lite Agreement with the Ministry of Defence, providing insight into the process and factors that shaped this outcome. The discussion will focus on lessons learned, practical considerations for SMEs engaging with defence procurement and implications for future collaboration between industry and government.

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