Coinvest Capital, together with its partners, will organize an exclusive event in Vilnius, where the most advanced innovations in the field of defense will be presented in order to promote international cooperation in this industry. The event, organized before the #NATO summit, aims to facilitate discussions on topics such as innovative warfare strategies, notable startups, and available funding opportunities in the Lithuanian defense and dual-use goods ecosystem.
On July 10, on the eve of the #NATOsummit2023 in Vilnius, the event "Innovations and Investments for Defense, Deterrence & Security" presenting Lithuanian defense innovations will be held. The purpose of the event is to promote future cooperation between local and foreign partners in the field of defense and dual-use technologies and to demonstrate the progress of Lithuanian information technology companies, business accelerators, and startups in providing security solutions.
"We want the international media and guests who came to Vilnius on the occasion of the NATO summit to see what kind of defense business ecosystem has been created in Lithuania, from accelerators to venture capital funds, that important innovations are made here — local companies develop new products needed for defense, get investments, competencies are growing and expanding, so we definitely have something to show and something to celebrate," says Viktorija Trimbel, Managing Director of the venture capital fund "Coinvest Capital", one of the organizers of the event. "We aim for participants to network and participate in discussions about the rapidly changing face of NATO and partners' defense after the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the beginning of 2022."
Among the main topics of the event - what innovations are necessary for modern warfare to be successful in the long run? Who are the key solution founders and startups in this space? What ecosystem of funding, acceleration and mentorship is available to defense and dual-use technology innovators?
The event will feature two separate discussions related to the defense industry and the ecosystem. The first one will be attended by NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU) Commander in Lithuania Peter Nielsen, non-resident senior research fellow of the Atlantic Council, former NATO Deputy Secretary General for Organizational Management Giedrimas Jeglinskas, Accenture's global head of artificial intelligence and data for the defense industry Bryan Rich, and the founder of Defense BattleLab Edward Ebbern. This discussion will discuss how the unconventional nature of the war in Ukraine poses new challenges for defense and what solutions are currently being developed to address them. The discussion will be moderated by the founder of the Military Institute of the Training and Doctrine Board of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, the first director, who is currently serving as an advisor, LTC (ret.) Valerijus Šerelis.
The second discussion is dedicated to discussing why the Lithuanian defense and dual-use solutions ecosystem is a viable place for innovation and investment in the field of defense, deterrence, and security. It will be attended by Inga Beiliūnienė, Deputy General Director of the National Development Agency "INVEGA"; Viktorija Trimbel, Managing Director of Coinvest Capital and member of the board of INVEGA; Andrea Traversone, Managing Partner of Amadeus Capital Partners and Edvinas Kerza, Managing Partner of ScaleWolf. We are awaiting final confirmation of participation in the discussion from the top management of the world's first multilateral NATO Innovation Fund, Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), and representatives of the European Defense Fund. The discussion will be moderated by Andrius Milinavičius, general partner of Baltic Sandbox Ventures.
During the event, it is also planned (depending on the outcome of ongoing negotiations) to sign agreements on the planned investment of a consortium of risk capital funds and business angels, led by Coinvest Capital, authorized to invest in dual-purpose innovations, in an advanced Lithuanian start-up operating in this industry.
About Coinvest Capital
Coinvest Capital is an early-stage venture capital fund established by INVEGA, using public funds from the budget of the EU and the Republic of Lithuania, investing together with business angels and other venture capital funds in young promising Lithuanian companies. Currently, the fund's portfolio already includes 27 startup companies. The fund offers a unique opportunity for private investors to get additional benefits by limiting their investment return to 6% in the event of a successful exit. Out of 25.5 million EUR fund capital, free capital for new investments amounts to 15 million euros.
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