Tech matchmaking showcase held for government, industry and investors

Prosthetic skin makers, wearable tech manufacturers and underground tunnelling experts were all on the agenda as part of a showcase event held by HMGCC.

The two-day showcase took place in Milton Keynes for an invited audience including government, investors, academics and industry.

The packed agenda included keynotes from our own CEO Simon Fabri, Chief Technology Officer Martin and NSSIF CEO Paloma McGuiness.

The speeches underlined NSSIF’s role in providing a potential investment pipeline for innovators who have received early support from HMGCC Co-Creation.

Visitors to the event also listened to presentations from 23 organisations from academia and industry who had taken part in previous HMGCC Co-Creation challenges.

HMGCC Co-Creation publishes challenges via our website and social media every month, offering funding for academics and companies to apply to take part in 12-week projects to solve tech problems for national security, law enforcement and defence.

At last week’s event, a huge array of technical disciplines were represented from organisations which had each applied to previous challenges.

Challenge solutions featured included counter-drone technology, the capability of analysing writing styles and trends (to understand if someone is not who they say they are online), and techniques to thoroughly clean DNA from items.

Companies involved in a recent challenge about wearable technologies were also present with a range of examples.

NSSIF CEO Paloma McGuiness said: “This event was really useful in underlining how we fit into the potential investment pipeline for much of the amazing technology coming from HMGCC Co-Creation challenge projects.

“HMGCC brings deep technical expertise, real operational problems, and the ability to prototype and test at pace.

“For companies, NSSIF can also bring capital, networks, and the ability to scale into sustainable, sovereign capability.

“When we work together, we send a clearer demand signal to industry. We make it easier for companies to understand what national security customers need. And we create a more coherent pathway for innovators from first conversation to deployed capability.”

HMGCC CEO Simon Fabri said: “I was hugely proud to witness the extraordinary technology that has come from companies and academics participating in the HMGCC Co-Creation initiative.

“And this event was about more than simply showing gadgets and ideas, it was about investors, government and industry communicating with each other about how we can bolster new technology and ensure UK sovereign capability in the future.