Fueling Growth for Dual-Use Ventures

Alums of BMNT Inc.'s Hacking for Allies program report funding, contracts as 4th cohort gets under way

PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hacking for Allies has numerous wins to report as it kicks off its fourth cohort next week.

Norwegian participants of the program have raised more than $14.5M in private investments and more than $12.5M in government and commercial contracts to date, Ellen Chang, Director of H4XLabs, BMNT Inc.'s enterprise accelerator, announced this week. 

Now in its third year, Hacking for Allies helps grow dual-use ventures and teaches them how to do business in the U.S. Twenty-four companies from Norway, Australia and India have gone through the program to date, with eight more now under way

Among the highlights of recent program alums:

Ubiq Aerospace completed a recent $4M USD investment round and is under contract with USSOCOM. In May the company successfully completed a demonstration of its proprietary autonomous ice protection solution, D•ICE, in collaboration with the Norwegian Ministry of Defense (MoD), the Norwegian Armed Forces, and the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment. The D•ICE solution will fly with tactical UAS OEMs by the end of 2023 and be deployed with NATO allied forces in 2024.

Nordic Batteries raised NOK 20 million from Kongsberg Innovation's deep-tech fund and Vardar AS. The capital investment was made to build a sustainable pilot line for assembling batteries in Norway.

Avju Solutions Completed a $2M USD funding round to fuel continued growth of their unique solutions to maximize security and efficiency of the power grid.

SentiSystems closed a funding round of NOK 5 million capital investment. SentiSystems offers a novel platform solution for real-time sensor data processing to empower autonomy on anything that moves: drones, vehicles, airplanes, and more.

Squarehead Technology partnered with UK-based defense contractor Chess Dynamics to build a Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System with 4D radar and advanced acoustic technology. Together, they are able to enable a more robust response to UAS threats. 

Hacking 4 Allies Norway is a partnership among BMNT; H4XLabs; Innovation Norway; the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI); the Royal Norwegian Embassy and the Norwegian-American Defense & Homeland Security Industry Council (NADIC). Participating companies are paired, concierge-style, with an advisor at H4XLabs, and, over six months, learn how to raise funds, work with the Department of Defense, conduct customer discovery for adjacent markets, and more.

Companies in the current cohort: https://www.h4xlabs.com/h4alliesnorway2023

Contact: Terri S. Vanech, BMNT Communications Manager, 203-918-1270, [email protected] 

SOURCE BMNT