AWS Public Sector Blog

AWS launches 2023 European Defence Accelerator for startups

There are a number of complex challenges impacting defence and national security organizations the world over – from increasing cyber threats, to climate change, to the rapid evolution of advanced technologies. Today, defence and national security organizations are increasingly turning to the cloud to support their critical missions and tackle these challenges.

To support defence and national security customers, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is launching the AWS European Defence Accelerator. The accelerator is open to startups globally who are interested in doing business with defence and national security organizations across Europe.

The AWS European Defence Accelerator’s goal is to support startups with AWS Cloud technologies to provide energy resilience, secure information sharing, sensing and decision making, quantum, and cyber resilience solutions to support a range of customer mission needs.

The AWS European Defence Accelerator is a four-week technical, business, and mentorship program delivered in collaboration with Plexal, a United Kingdom Government supported innovation technology firm. Participating startups are eligible to receive AWS computing credits, specialized AWS training, mentoring from defence and national security domain and technical subject matter experts, business development, go-to-market advice, and investment guidance. The program also offers opportunities for defence and national security leaders to mentor startups on topics ranging from defining their business models to showcasing their solutions’ business value.

Who can apply to the AWS European Defence Accelerator

The AWS European Defence Accelerator is open globally to startups that are interested in supporting business in the defence sector across Europe. Eligible startups must seek to address and deliver mission-critical solutions for land, air, maritime, space, or cyber domains. The final cohort of 15 selected startups must have existing customers and revenue, and be willing to demonstrate that they can use AWS Cloud services to solve defence and national security mission challenges in the following areas: energy resilience, secure information sharing, sensing and decision making, quantum, and cyber resilience.

Applications are evaluated based on several factors, including the project’s innovative and unique nature, the team’s ability to deliver a solution, creative uses of AWS services to develop the solution, and the overall value of the solution to defence customers.

Learn more about the AWS European Defence Accelerator and how to apply. The application period for the 2023 AWS European Defence Accelerator opens today, with proposals due by 19 May, 2023. Apply now.

Discover how AWS  helps reimagine and build digitally enabled public services. Plus, learn more about how Plexal and AWS support public sector defence customers and partners.


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Isabella Groegor-Cechowicz

Isabella Groegor-Cechowicz

Isabella Groegor-Cechowicz is vice president of Amazon Web Services (AWS) worldwide public sector of Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). She is responsible for public sector customer success in the EMEA Region. Isabella’s motto is to drive a “customer obsessed team” while engaging with government and defense customers in many countries on the benefits of cloud and the broad portfolio of services offered by AWS.

Grant Hume

Grant Hume

Grant Hume is national security, defence, space, and sustainability business development manager for UK public sector venture capital and startups at Amazon Web Services (AWS). He works with entrepreneurs and founders to build markets in the UK, EMEA, and international public sector.