The first interaction between the Portuguese Navy and Granter took place during a side event at Web Summit 2024. At the time, the business model did not fully align with the Navy’s operational context, and conversations were naturally paused.
Six months later, timing and priorities came together. Granter’s strategic pivot and the launch of the AI Grant Consultant answered several of the challenges previously identified. The Portuguese Navy reconnected after learning about this shift through a podcast and the official presentation of the solution during the Techstars accelerator program.
From that point on, the partnership took shape. In addition to the pilot, Granter was invited to participate as an observer in REPMUS, Europe’s largest military innovation exercise, and initiated a formal certification process under the “Navy Tested” programme.
This collaboration represents a key milestone. The Portuguese Navy will now test the first AI-powered grant agent designed and certified specifically for defence funding.
The Challenge
Complex coordination across teams and opportunities
When the Portuguese Navy approached Granter, three core challenges stood out. Together, they limited the organisation’s ability to use grants as a strategic tool across defence, infrastructure, and innovation initiatives.
Limited ability to map defence grants
Relevant national and European defence calls are spread across multiple programmes and platforms. Mapping all eligible opportunities, including NATO instruments, the European Defence Fund, and other strategic initiatives, required an operational capacity that was difficult to sustain internally.
As a result, opportunities were often missed due to limited visibility or lack of time to continuously monitor this fragmented ecosystem.
High workload for grant applications
Grant applications demanded a significant internal effort. With limited resources and low operational capacity, the Navy had to handle complex, highly regulated applications from start to finish, creating a heavy workload and making it hard to scale grant activities across units.
This made the preparation of applications time-consuming and often delayed the Navy’s ability to act on new funding opportunities.
Restrictions to rely on external consultants
Unlike civilian organisations, the Navy cannot easily outsource grant preparation. Defence applications require highly specialised knowledge, strict security clearances, and compliance with technological and operational security standards.
Given these constraints, external support is nearly impossible, forcing the Navy to rely entirely on internal teams, which makes the process slower and more resource-intensive.
Solution
A defence-grade pilot with three specialised agents
To address these challenges, Granter first developed a dedicated European defence grants database, covering opportunities that were not previously available within the platform.
On top of that, a tailored pilot was designed to reflect the Navy’s organisational structure with three specialised AI agents deployed: one for the Naval Academy, the Portuguese Navy, and the Hydrographic Institute.
The pilot currently integrates two cs:
Objectives
From efficiency gains to broader funding reach
Status
Early Results
The pilt has already delivered measurable results:
The partnership is currently in the certification phase for the “Navy Tested” programme. Granter is being evaluated by three different Navy units, a key step to validate the solution across multiple operational contexts and obtain official certification.
