Defense Tech: Lessons from a Swedish accelerator program

How do we accelerate defense tech innovation in practice? Vinnova’s ”Accelerator Program for Civil-Military Innovations” was established to test new ways of driving innovation in the Swedish defense sector. Now TechForward is bringing together CEOs from companies that took part in the program, Vinnova, and Teknikföretagen to discuss key takeaways. This roundtable will explore how lessons learned can shape the next generation of defense innovation, and strengthen Sweden’s ability to respond to future defense challenges.

Some of the questions that will be discussed:

• What aspects of the accelerator program created the strongest impact for your companies, and why?
  
• What were the biggest obstacles or bottlenecks, and how could future accelerator programs be improved to address them?
  
• How can collaboration between startups, established industry, and public actors be structured to speed up innovation in defense?
  
• What lessons from this accelerator are relevant for other sectors facing rapid technological and geopolitical change?
  
• Looking ahead, what concrete steps should Sweden take to strengthen its defense innovation ecosystem?