Defence Online

The SMEs showcased how their cutting-edge technologies could boost defence and security capabilities while offering compelling commercial returns on investment. The streamlined 2024 showcase, hosted in an open-plan venue, hit the mark with attendees who praised both the dynamic, concise pitches and valuable networking opportunities.

The featured SMEs and innovations included:

• AI GPR showcased their system that can enhance ground-penetrating radar capabilities using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
• Aphelion showcased their technology ‘Targe’, which offers space-station-level protection at mass and volume levels suited for modern satellites, addressing the growing need for specialised defence in space.
• Decision Lab showcased their ‘DroneMind’ platform, which can produce a customisable 3D simulation environment and reinforcement learning training suite. It will enable development of enabling algorithms in easily configurable defence related scenarios.
• Elemendar showcased their AI-powered platform which automates the interpretation of cyber threat intelligence (CTI) and transforms complex, unstructured threat data into actionable insights.
• Ethicronics showcased ‘Heavens’, the first tamper-proof, transparent, ready-to-use software that eliminates counterfeit and compromised hardware.
• FlockfireAI showcased their AI platform that provides a deep-learning-based malware detection solution designed for air-gapped and disconnected environments, ensuring security in even the most restricted or remote environments.
• Gibson Robotics showcased Red Kite, an autonomous UAS capable of hunting down and ensnaring an aerial threat using its patented net capture device and sophisticated flight algorithms and Shadow Hawk which offers autonomous and continuous patrols of a fixed site.
• HTMS showcased their novel matrix chemistry that enables lower temperature processing, allowing the use of lower-cost fibres and electromagnetic additives, and a simplified manufacturing process.
• Nquiring Minds showcased their technology ‘TDX Volt’ which integrates security principles into the heart of its AI powered analytics system. The novel design mirrors the complexity of the real world: an analytics processing paradigm that fuses data from different organisations.
• NuTissu showcased ‘E-Plaster®’, which enables wounds to rapidly and completely heal whilst preventing infection through delivering microcurrents at high-voltage.
• Optomel showcased ‘LuxJet’ a technology that offers governments and industry more secure, but easy-to-verify, physical features to improve the resilience of documents and products to counterfeiting and falsification.
• Zest Consult showcased ‘S-VID (Synthetic Video & Image Data)’, a tool designed to create the substantial volumes of labelled datasets required for training Machine Learning models.

Showcase Success

Since its inception in 2019, the DASA Investment Showcase has built a reputation as a key event for defence and security focused investors and DASA-funded innovators to connect.

The showcase has a strong track record: participating companies have been able to grow securing investment from investors in attendance, while DASA’s expertise helped strengthen SMEs fundraising capabilities through pitch-training. An impressive 33% of SME’s showcased at the events have successfully raised funding with a total of £36.8 million of investment being raised to date.

The DASA Investment Showcase not only facilitates crucial financial opportunities but also fosters valuable networking and learning experiences, contributing significantly to the growth and success of pioneering SMEs in the defence and security sectors.

Supporting Innovators: the Business Growth and Finance team

DASA’s support extends far beyond initial funding. DASA offers funded companies access to business mentoring and finance advice via the Business Growth and Finance (BG&F) service. DASA is committed to not just find and fund novel innovations, but to ensure the businesses that are funded have the appropriate strategies, plans and structures in place to commercialise their products and services.

The Business Growth and Finance team provides a suite of 1 to 1 support services to SMEs to help them become business, funding and supply chain ready. The BG&F team of specialists bring their extensive experience from the worlds of consulting, business banking and company support to offer DASA funded companies the assistance they need to identify and access the expertise and funding required to scale, grow and supply into the defence & security sectors.

You can find out more about the funding opportunities DASA offers here.