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NATO Innovation Fund Enters New Phase with Fresh Leadership and Renewed Defense Focus
July 24, 2025
Two years after securing $1 billion in commitments from over 20 allied countries, the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) is entering a new chapter, marked by key leadership changes and a sharpened focus on defense, security, and resilience technologies.
Originally launched in 2021 to invest in dual-use technologies—innovations with both civilian and military applications—NIF aimed to bridge the gap between startups and defense procurement. Since then, investment in this sector has surged, reaching a record 10% of all VC funding in Europe last year. Despite the promising climate, the fund faced internal challenges, including management turnover and slower-than-expected capital deployment.
At the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague, member states reaffirmed the fund’s strategic importance. Now, NIF is operating with an almost entirely new investment team. The updated leadership includes two new partners, Ulrich Quay and Sander Verbrugge, both based in Amsterdam, alongside returning partner Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky in London, the last remaining member of the original team.
Quay brings corporate venture experience from BMW, where he founded and led BMW i Ventures, while Verbrugge, a deep tech investor and molecular biophysicist, joins from Innovation Industries after a stint at semiconductor firm NXP. Their appointments follow the departure of founding partners Kelly Chen and Chris O’Connor, both of whom are pursuing new ventures.
Although some observers believe the fund could have moved faster, NIF says it remains on track to meet its annual investing goals. To date, it has made 19 investments—12 in startups and 7 in venture funds—backing companies like Space Forge and Tekever, which builds dual-use drones.
Critics continue to push for the fund to invest directly in Ukraine or in pure defense technology, but NIF maintains its core mission: empowering deep tech founders addressing challenges in defense, security, and resilience (DSR). The fund has also played a strategic role in NATO’s broader tech efforts, contributing to the Rapid Adoption Action Plan, which accelerates the integration of new technologies across allied forces.
Internally, the new partners were selected through a more deliberate process than in the fund’s early days—intended to ensure better chemistry and collaboration. NIF Vice Chair Fiona Murray compared the fund to a startup, emphasizing the need to learn, iterate, and evolve. “We are speeding up processes, expanding platform support for startups, and doubling down on ecosystem building,” she said.
Despite occasional concerns over conflicts of interest involving Chair Klaus Hommels, no changes to his role have been made. Instead, NIF appears focused on executing its mission, emphasizing industrial-scale solutions and pan-European ecosystem development.
With a fresh leadership team and a renewed sense of purpose, the NATO Innovation Fund is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the next wave of defense-aligned innovation across Europe.
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