Common Questions

What is the Sprint programme in UK defence?

Sprint is a permanent MOD programme launched on 22 April 2026 under the Defence Investors' Advisory Group (DIAG). It structures private-investment leverage mechanisms to attract institutional and venture capital into defence-adjacent startups with no prior MOD contracts.Source: event

How does Sprint differ from Zig-Zag?

Sprint is the capital-side mechanism, mobilising private investment into defence startups. Zig-Zag is the talent-side mechanism, seconding City and VC professionals into the MOD. Both were launched on 22 April 2026 as permanent programmes under DIAG.Source: event

What is DIAG and why was it made permanent?

The Defence Investors Advisory Group (DIAG) was made permanent on 22 April 2026 by John Healey and Rachel Reeves. Sprint and Zig-Zag are its two operational programmes, targeting the UK's next defence unicorn.Source: UK Government

Background

Sprint launched on 22 April 2026 when Defence Secretary John Healey and Chancellor Rachel Reeves made the Defence Investors' Advisory Group (DIAG) permanent. It is the private-investment leverage Arm of that permanent architecture: investor-to-MOD matchmaking, co-investment signals, and access to procurement pathways for startups that have no prior Ministry of Defence contracts. Sprint operates alongside the £20m MOD accelerated contracts fund as part of the same policy package.

Sprint's stated objective is the creation of the UK's next defence unicorn from among startups that have not previously engaged with MOD procurement. It complements Zig-Zag's secondment pathway by addressing the capital side of the equation where Zig-Zag addresses the institutional talent gap. Both programmes are permanent under DIAG, rather than time-limited initiatives. Six weeks after launch, no first deployment had been publicly announced, making the first named startup and first mobilised private-capital vehicle the key signal to watch.

Sprint sits within a broader and rapidly expanding UK defence-startup funding architecture. In May 2026, Innovate UK opened two defence-adjacent grant competitions totalling £15m (Counter UAS Technologies at up to £5m; Dual-Use Aviation Systems and Autonomy at up to £10m), both with a 3 June 2026 Deadline and mandatory SME collaboration requirements. On 13 May 2026, the National Wealth Fund wrote its first defence cheque: £25m to Rowden Technologies in Bristol, backing sensing and information systems for edge environments. The NWF investment signals that UK public-capital instruments beyond MOD are now actively deploying into defence. Sprint is the private-capital complement to this public-capital push.