Eindhoven-based communications startup LiveDrop takes a big leap with strategic collaboration within NATO
LiveDrop's technology is especially interesting in situations where WiFi, Bluetooth, mobile networks or satellite communication are not available or allowed.
Published on December 7, 2024
Dutch soldier at work - AI-generated image.
Bart is the co-founder and co-owner of Media52 (publishing IO+) and a Professor of Journalism at the University of Groningen. He is responsible for all the branches of our company—IO+, events, and Laio—and focuses on commercial opportunities. A journalist at heart, he also keeps writing as many stories as he can.
With Dimenco as the company's main supplier of staff and a serial entrepreneur as CEO, Eindhoven-based LiveDrop achieved its most significant success until now last week. During NATO EDGE 2024, the innovation and technology event for NATO countries, the cooperation agreement was announced with the U.S.-based Tactical Solutions Group, part of CDI Global.
LiveDrop's patented line-of-sight communication protocol focuses on sending files securely without requiring radio links such as WiFi or Bluetooth. The Dutch Ministry of Defense has technically validated the method. It is ideal for hospitals or cybersecurity applications, for example. In both civilian and military sectors, the protocol offers advantages in terms of invisibility, reliability, and independence. An important example is safe and undetected communication with drones in critical environments.
Dimenco and Philips
Three of LiveDrop's four founders - Erno Langendijk, Maarten Tobias, and Jurjen Caarls - have roots in the Eindhoven high-tech world. All three previously worked at Dimenco, the Veldhoven-based company acquired last year by California-based Leio Inc. The same goes for many of its employees. Dimenco makes 3d TV images without the user needing special glasses. Not only does Dimenco itself come directly from the legacy of Philips, so do Langendijk and Tobias themselves.
The fourth founder is CEO Patrick Moreu, whose LinkedIn profile stands out mainly because of the many companies he founded. There doesn't seem to be a common thread; his ventures focused on things like Christmas hampers, office furniture, and wax salons. Speaking to MT/Sprout recently, he said he consciously seeks that variety: “That's what I like best: building something from nothing, taking it to a certain level. Then I sell it or put an executive on it and start something completely different again. Every time I enter a new market, I am positively naive.” The contact with the three Dimenco men was equally coincidental: through the school that his children attended along with those of Maarten Tobias.
Another striking name on LiveDrop's 'about' page is Cees Links, the inventor of WiFi.
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BITS
The military application of LiveDrop also fits well with the cooperation Brainport Eindhoven already has with defense and NATO. BITS (Brainport Innovation & Technology Security) operates as a hub for defense innovation. Within the BITS consortium, Brainport Development, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the province of North Brabant, and the Brabant Development Agency (BOM) work together. So, it is no coincidence that LiveDrop came to the attention of the Ministry of Defense through the BOM. Recently, the Dutch and U.S. Departments of Defense signed an agreement in which they agreed to work together on innovations.
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The collaboration with Tactical Solutions Group opens doors to markets in North and South America. As a specialist in technology solutions for special forces and intelligence agencies, Tactical Solutions Group plays a crucial role in the continued adoption and scale-up of LiveDrop's technology within these sectors.
According to the company, LiveDrop's solutions are currently being tested by multiple NATO defense Components and are generating strong interest among special forces, intelligence, and other units. The partnership with Tactical Solutions Group reinforces the strategic ambition to position LiveDrop as a global interoperability standard within NATO.