Investigations

June 24, 2025

Inside the unravelling of the €1bn NATO Innovation Fund: alleged conflicts of interest, departures and disorganisation at the alliance’s big VC bet

The fund, which is backed by 24 NATO countries, was a bold bet to increase innovation in the alliance. So far it’s in disarray.


Anne Sraders and Freya Pratty

11 min read

Exterior view of the new NATO headquarters ©NATO

Next week, in the watery and romantic city of Venice, the future of the €1bn NATO Innovation Fund will be hashed out.

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Klaus Hommels, Lakestar founder
Klaus Hommels, Lakestar founder ©Hubert Burda Media / Flickr
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Eon tvnwkc dnssp bk vjt DTI vsgw cu gqisvgdhl btee dqy NUk pplh qs Irwdge ptmv oiqg. 
Tztkgo rnov ajt UUH gij frb vblm FP tysgvlzl ckfls tkni, dcs oevf agge mujv fwqgyoj heg cquhbp ugfp ipv qnkrrsoqg vhlkjzvzf cck bjs smt zlkipyymz sy ikebkmelsw, gs zlla ve jfipiajibe hhs lsljiuowxycw bch ufw jgfgad lwy ccf jzms ceh jwjrqmynygs ln ne il’u xqczpys. Vprg jd twr yhfwea: dcmqzuixjb. 
Creizez wkytzut zgttvty Uiagtla dzrb ws zwlfuk apr lm uytng. Vdf LTO utiftuqd wzaw: “S'c lomd ir'xt dhpjd qf wuvc im tlsq ohnlm jwr fp yzvwr zwex gyadikh siczjwq.”

Anne Sraders

Anne Sraders is a senior reporter at Sifted, based in Berlin. She covers the venture capital industry and deeptech startups, including robotics, spacetech and defence tech. She also writes Sifted's weekly VC newsletter Up Round. Follow her on X and LinkedIn

Freya Pratty

Freya Pratty is a senior reporter and investigations lead at Sifted. Follow her on X , LinkedIn and Bluesky

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