Tehnopol writes that 13 defence and dual-use companies showed their solutions at the Defence Business Lab Demo Day on 24 September. Ten of them were start-ups at the end of a pre-accelerator that lasts three months; the others had earlier passed through the NATO DIANA Estonian Accelerator. Tehnopol organised the day with Sparkup Tartu Science Park and the business angel network EstBAN.
The 2026 group of the pre-accelerator was made up of Kappazeta, MindChip, Arx, Anti-Troll and Cata Strato, and of Towerhouse, Skypiercer, Passer Systems, Stickleback Robotics and Sonic Dynamics. During the programme the teams worked on their business models, entry to the market, testing needs and their readiness to talk to customers, partners and investors. Each team had a mentor of its own and received a development grant of EUR 5,000.
According to Tehnopol, the programme is meant for companies that are still laying the base of a defence or dual-use business. In this field the person who uses a product, the one who buys it and the authority that runs the procurement can be three different parties, and testing often needs special environments and cooperation with the public sector.
Around 100 people took part, and close to 20 of them had come to look for investments. Backing founders in defence and dual-use technology is a matter of national security,
said Darja Ogorodnik, who manages deal flow for EstBAN. She added that the network works with both programmes so that founders reach capital quickly.
The accelerator alumni came from abroad: SkyFi is a company of the United States, DATAMBIT of the United Kingdom and IS-Wireless of Poland. Their presence allowed a comparison between teams at the earliest stage and companies that have been through an international programme.
Source: Tehnopol, . The text above is our own summary; the words in quotation marks are the source's.
What this means for an Estonian entrepreneur
For an Estonian founder in defence or dual-use technology the source gives a practical order of questions: who uses the product, who can test it and who has the authority to buy it are answered separately, and investors ask all three. Business angels attend such days to find companies, so a founder who expects an angel to join as a co-owner gains from agreeing beforehand how decisions are taken and how shares may change hands.
When a business angel becomes a co-owner of an Estonian company, the founders and the investor record their rights in a shareholders' agreement, which we draft. Shareholders' agreement