Five companies have reached the final round at the Defence & Tech Summit in Gijón, in the competition category for small and medium-sized businesses and start-ups. The nominees are Aleph Tech R&D S.L., Blackfishid S.L., Intrustop S.L., Quantum Computing Solutions and Umibots Smart Solutions S.L. The €10,000 prize, sponsored by Gijón Impulsa, will be presented on 1 October. The ceremony will be hosted by Gijón Deputy Mayor Ángela Pumariega; the Secretary of State for Defence, María Amparo Valcarce, is expected at the closing event.
The finalists were selected by a multidisciplinary jury drawn from the regional business and technology ecosystem. In the final round, the five companies will present their solutions in person and answer questions about their readiness for deployment, scalability and security requirements. The competition is aimed at providers of new technologies with direct or potential applications in defence.
The two-day forum will take place on 30 September and 1 October at LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial in Gijón. Alongside the awards ceremony, the programme includes expert contributions and discussions on innovation, procurement and cooperation across the defence industry’s supply chains. The aim is to make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to access defence-sector programmes and build links with major systems integrators.
The prize is modest in financial terms, but serves as a signal and a door-opener: an award on this platform can spark pilot projects, speed up certification and facilitate negotiations with potential partners. Whether any of the solutions presented will subsequently be included in funding schemes or procurement remains to be seen and depends on technical assessments, evidence of cybersecurity and the relevant procurement procedures.
The Summit is the first edition of an event bringing Gijón’s local start-up scene together with national players in defence, technology and industry. For the municipality, the focus is on networking; for the Ministry of Defence, building a broader industrial base is of interest. No specific commitments to contracts or funding beyond the prize had been announced by the time of publication.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).