The financiers of the new defense players: Europe's 24 most influential defense investors

VCs invested more than one billion US dollars in defense tech startups in Europe in 2024. Within four years, the total investment has more than quintupled, according to a report by Dealroom .

The numbers are expected to be significantly higher in 2025. According to Dealroom, the billion mark was already nearly broken in the first half of the year, with VCs investing $971 million in defense – the vast majority of which went to German companies.

In June, Helsing closed a €600 million round (reaching a €12 billion valuation). Quantum Systems followed in August with a €160 million round , increasing its valuation to around €3 billion. Arx Robotics took third place in the largest defense rounds ( extending its Series A to €42 million in July 2025).

There are now several VCs and funds in Europe that focus exclusively on investing in defense startups , many founded by well-connected individuals from military and startup circles. But there are also powerful corporate VCs from defense companies that invest strategically.

And then there are those who are secretly referred to within defense circles as "the tourists" : agnostic venture capitalists who want to invest risk capital in an apparently booming market and are therefore increasingly interested in startups in the dual-use, defense, or "resilience" categories. Are they good or bad? No one in the bubble wants to commit to a specific answer. The fact is: startups need money to grow.

We show you: Europe's 24 most important defense investors – and how closely intertwined they are.