ANKARA

NATO allies signed on Thursday the Innovation Fund Letter of Commitment on Thursday, launching the "world’s first multi-sovereign venture capital fund."

“This fund is unique," Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told the signing ceremony in Madrid. "With a 15-year timeframe, the NATO Innovation Fund will help bring to life those nascent technologies that have the power to transform our security in the decades to come, strengthening the alliance’s innovation ecosystem and bolstering the security of our one billion citizens."

The Fund will invest in early-stage start-ups and other venture capital funds developing dual-use emerging technologies of priority to NATO. These include artificial intelligence, big-data processing, quantum-enabled technologies, biotechnology, and space.

Stoltenberg said NATO has been able to keep the alliance strong and member nations safe by maintaining its technological edge, but “nations that do not share our values like Russia and China are challenging that.”

“It is essential that we do everything in our power to remain at the forefront of innovation and technology,” he said. “This fund alongside DIANA, NATO's Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic, will help to do just that.”

The fund has been signed by Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Türkiye, and the UK.