A large NATO investment fund is settling in the Netherlands. It reports that Ministry of Economic Affairs Monday. The government has been trying for some time to bring the headquarters of the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) to the Netherlands. The fund is mainly intended for stimulating new technologies such as artificial intelligence, processing big data and innovations in the field of new materials and energy.
The arrival of the fund means good news for start-ups, among others. They could more easily find new funding for technological innovation. NATO member states will invest a billion euros through the fund over a period of fifteen years in start-ups that want to develop in this field. The Netherlands has pledged to contribute more than 55 million euros.
The fund mainly wants to focus on so-called dual usetechnology, applications that can be used not only for defense purposes, but also benefit society as a whole. Companies usually have great difficulty in attracting private money for the development of such applications. Moreover, its development is quite expensive.
The Netherlands hopes that the arrival of the investment fund is a harbinger of attracting other large funds. After NATO announced the fund last October during a summit in Madrid, the Ministry of Economic Affairs worked out the Dutch candidacy together with Defense and tech companies organization Techleap.nl. Luxembourg was also mentioned as a new location. It is not yet known where the fund will be located. Previously reported The Financial Times Amsterdam as a possible destination. The investment fund will be officially launched next summer during the NATO summit in Vilnius.