1991 Ventures invested in Allied Adaptive Industries (A2I), a defence-procurement marketplace founded in 2024 by former Royal Marines officer Jon Williams. The platform aims to connect startups, SMEs and prime contractors with government customers via a single, digital marketplace. A2i vision is first of its kind Defence Technology Platform to help unite and empower a dynamic but fragmented European industrial base.
Williams, who served over a decade in the UK Royal Marines, describes A2I as “a mix of Anduril for Europe and Amazon for defence procurement,” to meet government “where they are, not expecting them to adapt their behaviours to be faster or take more risk”. Founder highlights that small companies often lack the specialist bid teams and cash runway to sustain traditional two-to-three-year procurement cycles, an issue his marketplace is designed to address.
The platform launch is planned for 2025. A2I sources best-in-class technologies ranging from software modules to full drone and air-defence systems and brings them together. The startup will charge a transaction fee on marketplace sales and offer tiered subscriptions for digital procurement tools and support services. Governments and prime contractors will access the platform at no cost when it launches.
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