LONDON, June 18 Reuters A consortium of NATO allies has confirmed the first tranche of companies awarded funding as part of the groups one billion euro 1.1 billion innovation fund.

The alliance unveiled the fund in the summer of 2022, months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, promising to invest in technologies that would enhance its defences. The fund is backed by 24 of NATO39;s 32 member states, including Finland and Sweden, which joined the alliance earlier this year.

On Tuesday, the NATO Innovation Fund NIF confirmed it had directly invested in four European tech companies, which it said would help address challenges in defence, security, and resilience.

The body has allocated funding to Fractile AI, a Londonbased computer chipmaker aiming to make large language models LLMs like those that power ChatGPT run faster, as well as Germany39;s ARX Robotics, which designs unmanned robots with functions ranging from heavylifting to surveillance.

The other two startups were British manufacturer iCOMAT, which makes lighter materials for vehicles, and Space Forge, a Welsh company that harnesses the conditions of space such as microgravity and vacuum conditions to build semiconductors inorbit.

Enabling access to strategic technologies is key to securing a safe and prosperous future for the alliance39;s one billion citizens, said Andrea Traversone, the fund39;s managing partner.

The fund has also partnered with venture capital firms Alpine Space Ventures, OTB…