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UniLab Latvijā vadošais universitāšu tehnoloģiju biznesa akcelerators

UniLab ļauj tehnoloģijās balstītām universitāšu komandām un jaunuzņēmumiem pārveidot pētniecības atklājumus par veiksmīgiem, augstas pievienotās vērtības uzņēmumiem, izmantojot specializētu mentorēšanu, mērķtiecīgas apmācības un finansējuma atbalstu. UniLab Defence, ko atbalsta Latvijas Aizsardzības ministrija un četras zinātņu universitātes, paātrina divējāda lietojuma dziļo tehnoloģiju jaunuzņēmumu attīstību būdams NATO Ziemeļatlantijas reģiona aizsardzības inovāciju akceleratora DIANA centrs Latvijā. Tā savieno jaunuzņēmumus ar NATO resursiem, testēšanas centriem un gala lietotājiem aizsardzības un rūpniecības jomā.

2026. gadā UniLab uzsāks Latvijā pirmo pirmsakcelerācijas programma aizsardzības jomā, lai izveidotu Latvijas aizsardzības inovāciju ekosistēmu un palīdzētu jaunuzņēmumiem ieviest progresīvus risinājumus valsts un NATO vajadzībām.

Defence Tech Meetup Vol. 7 brought together innovators, defence industry leaders, policymakers, investors, and startups ...
26/10/2026

Defence Tech Meetup Vol. 7 brought together innovators, defence industry leaders, policymakers, investors, and startups working on the next generation of defence and dual-use technologies.

🔹A major highlight of the evening was the official launch of , Latvia’s first national defence pre-acceleration program, introduced by Andris Baumanis, CEO of UniLab. All 12 selected startups took the stage to pitch their technologies and solutions.

🔹 A special thank you to our legal partners Sorainen Latvija and Spridzans, Snipe & Hramcenko for joining the pitch jury and awarding pro bono legal consultations to DIAL startups!

🔹 We were also honoured to welcome Signe Nīgale from Entrepreneurs for Peace (Uzņēmēji Mieram), joined remotely by Ukrainian soldier Aleksandrs, who shared first-hand perspectives from Ukraine.

🔹 Thank you to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republikas Ārlietu ministrija) and the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia (Aizsardzības ministrija) for their participation and continued commitment to strengthening Latvia’s defence innovation ecosystem.

🤝 This event was made possible with the support of the Rīga City Council, our co-host Startup House Riga, and our friends at Techritory. Special thanks to Drone House for hosting us and Mežpils Alus for providing drinks.

And, of course, thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to the conversations and connections!

📸 Rota Šveicare

22/10/2026

This morning, Andris Baumanis, CEO of UniLab Defence, joined Latvian national television’s morning programme Rīta Panorāma to share more about – Latvia’s first national defence pre-acceleration programme.

🔹He highlighted the technologies our 12 startups are developing, from drone detection and resilient communications to AI-powered solutions, and shared what lies ahead for the teams as they work towards military validation and international markets. Watch the full interview 🔗 https://replay.lsm.lv/.

🚀 And today, we're officially launching at Defence Tech Meetup Vol. 7! Join us to meet the 12 startups, hear their pitches, and connect with Latvia’s defence tech ecosystem.

📍 Riga | October 22, from 16:30
🔗 Register here: https://luma.com/najvk44c

🏆 Congratulations to our DIAL participant, Detexity, who just won the EUDIS Defence Hackathon 2026 Latvia!🏆 Congratulati...
21/10/2026

🏆 Congratulations to our DIAL participant, Detexity, who just won the EUDIS Defence Hackathon 2026 Latvia!

🏆 Congratulations to our "Elevate" program participant, the team "Zvirbulis," for taking 2nd place.

🚀 12 Latvian defence tech startups selected for the first DIAL programme! 🇱🇻 Latvia is taking another important step tow...
20/10/2026

🚀 12 Latvian defence tech startups selected for the first DIAL programme!

🇱🇻 Latvia is taking another important step towards building a stronger, more innovative defence industry.

12 promising startups have been selected for DIAL (Defence Innovation Accelerator for Latvia) - the country's first national defence pre-acceleration programme, developed by the Aizsardzības ministrija in partnership with UniLab.

💡 Each startup will receive up to €120,000 in funding, alongside tailored commercialisation support, access to international experts and opportunities to validate their technologies with military end users.

This year's programme focuses on "Autonomy for Superiority", supporting breakthrough innovations in autonomous systems, drone detection, AI-powered solutions, secure communications, and other critical defence technologies.

👏 Meet the 12 selected startups:
🔹 Detexity – passive FPV drone detection.
🔹 FOFF Industries (Unfazed) – acoustic drone detection and interception.
🔹 Ardlat – high-power microwave counter-drone technology.
🔹 HARDMODE (Comlab) – autonomous private 4G/5G networks.
🔹 SUBmerge Baltic – autonomous maritime mission management.
🔹 Ascent Lumina – synthetic data for AI-powered computer vision.
🔹 Sphere Tactical – AI-driven tactical decision support.
🔹 OffSeq – passive radio-frequency monitoring.
🔹 NEWT21 – enhanced surveillance for unmanned surface vessels.
🔹 RANNON – rocket-assisted launch technology.
🔹 Capitalg – modular weapons integration for unmanned platforms.
🔹 Tactical Avionix – AI-powered real-time object recognition and tracking.

🌍 Over the next 10 months, these teams will work with defence industry experts and mentors from more than 15 countries, gain access to military end users and explore opportunities in international markets, particularly North America.

Congratulations to all 12 teams! 🚀

🇪🇺 From innovation to operational readiness - Airbus Defence and Space continues to bring up crucial topics that directl...
16/10/2026

🇪🇺 From innovation to operational readiness - Airbus Defence and Space continues to bring up crucial topics that directly influence European Defence Readiness ( )

Across Vilnius and Pabradė defence industry and innovation leaders, SMEs and scale-ups, armed forces and government representatives met to explore one fundamental question - how do we turn defence innovation into operational capability faster, at scale and sustainably?

Several key takeaways:
✴️ Readiness is a system, not a product. Technology alone is not enough.
✴️ Rapidly evolving uncrewed systems challenge traditional approaches to equipment, doctrine, and command structures.
✴️ Innovation and adoption still operate at different speeds. Promising technologies often face lengthy procurement, certification, financing, and integration processes.
✴️ The measure of defence innovation is not how quickly we demonstrate technology, but how quickly we turn it into sustainable operational effect.

Thanks to an amazing Airbus Defence and Space team - Caroline Sevier, Joseph Bray, Consuela Petre, Naomi Bellomo - for constantly keeping this topic on the agenda.

We at UniLab are incredibly lucky to have huge support from Aizsardzības ministrija that helps innovators bring their defence tech innovations to the next level. Stay tuned, big news coming soon.

🎯 Fundraising starts with investment readiness, not a pitch deck.What milestones must a company achieve before external ...
13/10/2026

🎯 Fundraising starts with investment readiness, not a pitch deck.

What milestones must a company achieve before external capital can accelerate its growth?

This was the central question of the first Time 2 Scale workshop, Fundraising Strategy & Roadmap, led by UniLab Entrepreneurs in Residence Toby Moore and Farid Singh.

Working with founders from the 25-company cohort, we focused on three key areas:
🔹 Investment readiness – identifying the business milestones investors expect to see.
🔹 Risk reduction – building evidence of traction, market potential and scalability.
🔹 Fundraising roadmap – aligning capital needs with growth milestones and business priorities.

Through hands-on exercises, real company cases and one-to-one consultations, founders worked on translating these principles into actionable fundraising strategies.

The key takeaway? Capital should accelerate a validated growth strategy, not replace one.

🤝 Time 2 Scale is implemented by RTU - Rīgas Tehniskā universitāte , Hanken School of Economics and Estonian Business School , connecting expertise and business networks across the Central Baltic region.

🎯 Our message to hackathon teams of ‘26: can you name the soldier who needs your solution? First name and surname.If y...
10/10/2026

🎯 Our message to hackathon teams of ‘26: can you name the soldier who needs your solution? First name and surname.

If you can, you know their problem and your path into service. If you can’t, start there.

🤝 Joseph Bray presented the Airbus Defence and Space and UniLab collaboration as a showcase for how startups and a prime can work together through NATO DIANA and the program. Great to catch up with Joseph and Consuela Petre, and thanks to Viktorija Trimbel of Coinvest Capital for moderating our panel.

🇱🇹🇱🇻 Thanks to Paulius Nezabitauskas, CEO of Tech-Park Kaunas, for an open exchange on building in Riga, and to Žilvinas Kvedaravičius of Unmanned Defense Systems. We first met at the UniLab startup pitch session at Drone Summit 2025, and this week UDS launched UDS Ukraine 🇺🇦, a joint venture working directly with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Defence Tech Meetup is back for Vol. 7! 🛡️On October 22, UniLab Defence and Startup House Riga are bringing together Lat...
09/10/2026

Defence Tech Meetup is back for Vol. 7! 🛡️

On October 22, UniLab Defence and Startup House Riga are bringing together Latvia’s defence innovation ecosystem – startups, defence and government representatives, investors, researchers, industry players and technology developers.

What to expect:
🔹 DIAL pitches: hear how the startups of DIAL, Latvia’s national defence pre-acceleration programme, present their ideas in two minutes
🔹 Founder stories straight from the people building defence tech
🔹 Opportunities to connect with investors, policymakers and strategic partners
🔹 Take a drone for a spin: try flying a drone yourself right at the venue

How to join
This is a closed event, so please register first: https://luma.com/najvk44c

The location will be shared only with approved participants.

📍 Riga | 🗓 22 October 2026

Defence Tech Meetup Vol. 7 is co-hosted by UniLab Defence and Startup House Riga , and organised alongside Techritory 2026. Supported by the Rīga City Council.

25 ambitious companies. Three countries. One ambition: scaling beyond borders. 🚀The new cycle of Time 2 Scale is officia...
09/10/2026

25 ambitious companies. Three countries. One ambition: scaling beyond borders. 🚀

The new cycle of Time 2 Scale is officially underway! It brings together 25 growth-oriented companies from Latvia, Estonia and Finland for a nine-month journey towards international growth and investment readiness.

We’re proud that UniLab is part of it, developing and delivering practical workshops on the challenges companies face as they prepare for their next stage of growth.

💡 Together with our Entrepreneurs in Residence Toby Moore and Farid Singh, we’re helping founders tackle questions like:
🔹 Fundraising strategy and investor readiness
🔹 Customer segmentation and value proposition
🔹 International expansion

Our approach is hands-on: practical frameworks, real company cases, exercises and personalised consultations that turn big ambitions into clear strategies and next steps.

🤝 Time 2 Scale is implemented by RTU - Rīgas Tehniskā universitāte, Hanken School of Economics and Estonian Business School, connecting expertise and business networks across the Central Baltic region.

We can’t wait to see these companies grow!

🚀 Venture Catalysts starts soon!Only a few days to go until the 6th and final Venture Catalysts cycle begins!Over 5 week...
08/10/2026

🚀 Venture Catalysts starts soon!
Only a few days to go until the 6th and final Venture Catalysts cycle begins!
Over 5 weeks, participants will take part in 10 expert-led sessions, receive mentoring, connect with fellow innovators, and gain practical knowledge to help take their ideas to the next level. 💡
📅 Starting 13 October
Are you ready to explore science-based innovation, deep tech, and entrepreneurship?
Venture Catalysts is almost here! 🚀
👉 Find out more: https://unilab.lv/venturecatalysts
The program is supported by the ERDF project “Development of Innovative Entrepreneurship of SMEs”.

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