26 May 2026

LEAD, an innovation incubator based in Östergötland, has been appointed Swedish accelerator for NATO DIANA – NATO’s innovation programme for the development of new technologies with both civilian and military applications. The appointment entails, among other things, a clearer role for Sweden in NATO’s work with strategically important technology, such as hardware, AI and unmanned systems.

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Jan-Ingvar Jönsson, Vice-Chancellor of  Linköping University. 

The work that has now led to the appointment has been ongoing since 2023, when LEAD was recommended as Sweden’s candidate for NATO DIANA by the Swedish Armed Forces, Vinnova, the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency and the Swedish Research Council.

“This appointment is of course very gratifying, but I’m not surprised: it’s a recognition of the inherent strength of the innovation system surrounding Linköping University, one example being our collaboration with LEAD,” says Jan-Ingvar Jönsson, Vice-Chancellor of Linköping University.

He also emphasises LiU’s long-standing tradition of combining excellent research with entrepreneurship and close collaboration with industry and societal actors, which provides good conditions for contributing to the development of future strategically important technologies within NATO DIANA.

“Sweden has world-leading expertise in advanced technology, research and deep tech. Through NATO DIANA, Swedish companies will also gain better access to international networks, capital and test environments. This strengthens Swedish competitiveness as well as our long-term innovation and security capabilities,” says Catharina Sandberg, CEO of LEAD.

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Further reading

NATO appoints LEAD as Swedish accelerator for DIANA (Pressrelease from the Swedish Government)

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