Depth over demos: Lessons from Trust My Tech’s first Nordic sprint — and what comes next

Company perspective: Diadrom

For the Swedish software company Diadrom, the value of Trust My Tech wasn’t a quick contract. It was a faster way into the right conversations — a chance to test where their capabilities could create real value inside a complex organisation, without spending months trying to find the right doors.

Diadrom focuses on long-life, safety-critical systems, spanning reliability, cybersecurity and lifecycle management — capabilities that are increasingly critical as defence platforms become more software-defined and multi-supplier in nature. As the company brings experience from automotive into defence and security, the programme became a direct way to test where that expertise fits within Thales’ organisation.

“We’ve had more than twelve proper sit-down meetings across Thales and their business units, and we wouldn’t have gotten that otherwise,” says Viktor Eliasson, CEO of Diadrom. “The real value is getting connected to the right people and the right discussions, where real system-level challenges are being defined and prioritised. Marine has been very good at matching us with the relevant parts of Thales. Without that, you’re essentially starting from scratch as a specialised company trying to navigate a very large organisation.”

Eliasson is realistic about the timeline. Working in defence and security takes patience and follow-through.

“I didn’t expect a deal in less than a year,” he says. “But in around nine months, I do think we can have something solid to present — a proof of value connected to a real business case, built around a concrete platform challenge rather than a generic pitch. That’s where things start to get interesting.”

The sprint also sharpened how Diadrom communicates value. Eliasson says the sessions helped him become clearer on the customer problem and more precise in how he builds the business case.

“One thing I learned a lot from was the masterclasses and how Thales works with a more professional sales process. I’ve used it a lot, and it has improved my own sales ability quite a bit,” he says.

With that groundwork in place, the next step is turning that momentum into a clear commercial pathway. As Eliasson puts it, the options range from developing something together, to Thales becoming a customer, to going jointly towards an end customer. Either way, the sprint helped move the discussion from introductions to more concrete next steps — an approach he sees as relevant for complex defence organisations exploring software lifecycle control in a focused, low-risk way.

Why the Nordics, and why now?

For Thales, bringing Trust My Tech to the Nordics is about strategic proximity. The region is home to one of Europe’s most advanced tech ecosystems, with strong deep tech and a mature cyber culture. In today’s geopolitical context, that combination has made the Nordics increasingly important to European defence cooperation.

Martinez is direct about why Thales chose to anchor the programme in the region.

“Very simply: because the Nordics matter. If I had to summarise the Nordic ecosystem in one sentence: less hype, more substance.”

That pragmatism is part of what Thales values in this context. Martinez points to companies that are ready to engage with real delivery requirements — including operational constraints, compliance expectations and long-term responsibility for systems that need to perform over decades. For Thales, that is what makes collaboration viable beyond a short sprint.

Next challenge: trusted agentic AI

With the first Nordic sprint wrapping up, Thales is now inviting companies to apply for the next challenge. The ambition is to move from exploration to decisions that can lead to deployment and longer-term collaboration. “We want stronger alignment with real business priorities and clearer paths to integration,” says Marine Martinez.

The focus of this challenge is trusted agentic AI. As AI systems move from decision support to agents that can plan and act, the focus shifts from what they can do to how they can be trusted, governed and controlled. Once deployed, organisations need to know whether an agent is legitimate, still aligned with intent and possible to audit, contain or stop when needed.

“This is not a marginal issue. It’s the next structural challenge for cybersecurity. If we don’t design trust into these systems from the start, we will scale vulnerability,” Martinez adds.

For this challenge, Thales is looking for solutions and expertise in:

• Identifying and managing AI agents, including permissions and access
• Keeping agent behaviour aligned and controllable over time
• Securing how agents use tools and APIs
• Monitoring agents at runtime and containing risky behaviour
• Making decisions and actions traceable for audit and compliance

Viktor Eliasson of Diadrom offers one piece of advice to applicants:

“Don’t assume defence is low-tech and don’t assume your solution is the best thing since sliced bread. Do your research and be prepared for long sales cycles.”

Apply to the next cohort

The Trusted Agentic AI challenge is now open for submissions.

For questions, contact Sakarias Strand at sakarias.strand@kistasciencecity.com