The NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) has announced its first investment in quantum tech, leading a seed round in Southampton University spinout Aquark Technologies. Aquark has developed a unique quantum sensing technology that can be used as an alternative position, navigation, and timing (PNT) device, independent from satellites and thus immune to external tampering.
Aquark’s patented cold atom system uses a new way of trapping neutral atoms, different from the traditional magneto-optical trap (MOT) method. This allows for simpler systems that are smaller, lighter, cheaper, and more energy-efficient. The technology is applicable to a broad range of quantum areas, but the startup has decided to focus on quantum sensing as this is where the fastest returns and biggest impact are to be found.
The technology has dual-use applications, with both civilian and military purposes. While the defence application may have previously caused other funders to hesitate, this stance seems to have evolved along with the geopolitical climate. Other sectors that can immediately benefit from this kind of infrastructure upgrade include data centres, telecommunications, and financial transactions.
Aquark is the first DIANA (Defence Accelerator for the North Atlantic) cohort company to receive direct investment from the NIF. The team includes members from various European countries, reflecting the spirit of cross-border collaboration. According to co-founder Alexander Jantzen, “It feels like it elevates this above national borders — that it is not necessarily a sovereignty that has to sit with each individual nation, because the technology then becomes more challenging and more tricky. We have to be working together at a higher level or be left behind.”
The investment will allow Aquark to continue to scale and develop its technology, making it even smaller and more efficient.