In light of escalating geopolitical tensions, particularly Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine and shifting U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump, Europe’s defence technology sector has become increasingly vital. The suspension of U.S. military aid to Ukraine has raised concerns about NATO’s cohesion and the reliability of traditional alliances, prompting European nations to reassess and strengthen their defence capabilities.
In response to these challenges, Europe’s defence technology landscape has experienced unprecedented growth. Venture capital investment in European defence and security technology startups surged by 24% in 2024, reaching a record $5.2 billion, despite a general downturn in European VC funding. This surge reflects a collective endeavor to bolster defence capabilities amid an increasingly volatile global environment.
Our comprehensive research has identified over 300 European DefenceTech startups, making it the most extensive analysis ever conducted in this sector. This expansive landscape not only highlights the region’s innovative potential but also underscores the critical role these startups play in fortifying Europe’s defence posture in the face of evolving threats.
Get 300+ European DefenceTech 🪖 Startups Now!
Already a Specter user? Click here to explore the EU Defence Landscape 🚀
Not on Specter yet? Download the list and get in touch to access the full dataset 📥
Highlights and Key Areas
The breakdown buckets defence startups by technology. Showcasing the breadth, and depth of EU's evolving defence industrial base. Key areas bellow:
- AI & Cybersecurity: AI-powered systems for predictive cybersecurity, workplace safety, and decision-making, addressing evolving threats and enhancing operational resilience.
- Surveillance & Intelligence: Creating digital twins of Earth, advanced surveillance technologies, and spacecraft designs for space security and debris removal, enhancing situational awareness and intelligence capabilities.
- Quantum & Advanced Computing: Pioneering quantum computers, quantum networking, and advanced computing solutions, offering unprecedented computational power and secure communications for defence and security.
- Space & Aerospace: Developing reusable spacecraft, satellite systems, and propulsion technologies, positioning Europe as a leader in space exploration and security.
- Autonomous Systems & Robotics: Focusing on smart modular robots, autonomous mobile robotics, and unmanned vehicles, enhancing automation and operational capabilities for defence applications.
- Advanced Materials & Manufacturing: Innovations in lightweighting solutions, advanced materials, and integrated photonic circuits drive the development of lighter, stronger, and more capable defence platforms.
Significant strides being made in Europe defence technology - a topical theme at the moment.
Defence Artificial Intelligence
AI-driven battlefield decision-making, predictive threat detection, and human-in-the-loop oversight are transforming modern warfare, enhancing operational efficiency and reducing response times in high-stakes environments.
Key Innovators:
- Comand AI (AI-powered targeting systems) – Raised €8.9M in 2024 for Prevail, a next-gen AI targeting system that reduces artillery targeting latency by 40%. Deployed in French-German joint operations, it significantly enhances decision-making speed, cutting urban combat response times by 33%.
- BforeAI (Cyber threat intelligence) – Secured a $10M Series B in 2024 for its PreCrime™ Engine, an AI-powered system capable of predicting cyberattacks up to 12 months in advance. Now a strategic partner of Airbus CyberSecurity, it safeguards NATO satellite networks from emerging threats.
- DefSecIntel Solutions (Autonomous surveillance systems) – Specializing in AI-driven thermal imaging, the company oversees 1,200km of Arctic borders across 25 NATO countries, providing real-time monitoring. Its advanced surveillance network has reduced border breach response time by 78%, reinforcing NATO’s defence infrastructure.
Lasers & Imaging and Sensors
Hyperspectral imaging, LiDAR targeting, and AI-driven optical analysis are revolutionizing Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, enhancing battlefield awareness and missile threat detection.
Key Innovators:
- blackshark.ai (3D geospatial intelligence) – Processes 1.4 million km²/day of high-resolution battlefield data, providing real-time 3D reconstructions. Integral to Lockheed Martin’s JADC2 simulations, it enhances situational awareness for military operations.
- VIZGARD (AI-powered optical security) – Its FortifAI system leverages thermal and SWIR fusion to detect drones with 94% accuracy. Currently tested by the Royal Navy, it strengthens autonomous threat detection against aerial incursions.
- Perciv AI (Radar perception systems) – Secured €2.5M in 2024 to develop a LiDAR alternative for Rheinmetall armored vehicles, reducing costs by 83% while enhancing target classification accuracy.
Enterprise Software
Digital twins, AI-driven maintenance, and ML-powered logistics are modernizing NATO’s defence infrastructure, optimizing operational readiness and reducing inefficiencies.
Key Innovators:
- Improbable (Metaverse & Simulation Technology) – With $703M in funding, Improbable is a leader in synthetic environments for military training. It enables high-fidelity simulations for NATO’s joint operational planning, improving cross-alliance coordination.
- Varjo (VR & Mixed Reality for Defence) – Raised $166M to develop human-eye resolution XR headsets, used in pilot and combat training. Collaborates with Lockheed Martin to simulate real-world combat scenarios for enhanced operational preparedness.
- H55 (Next-gen aviation systems) – Secured $104M in 2024 to develop electric propulsion technologies, contributing to silent reconnaissance aircraft for NATO special operations.
- Hadean (Cloud & AI-Powered Simulations) – With $70M in funding, Hadean is building scalable virtual battlespaces, enabling multi-force military exercises with real-time AI-driven war gaming.
Quantum Infrastructure
Quantum encryption, sensing, and secure communications are emerging as critical pillars of NATO’s electronic warfare strategy, enhancing cryptographic resilience and battlefield intelligence.
Key Innovators:
- eleQtron (Quantum computing for military logistics) – Raised €16.3M to develop ion-trap quantum computing solutions for military operations. Its system optimizes RAF Tornado squadron fuel use, reducing costs by 17%, while improving mission efficiency.
- Nu Quantum (Quantum-secured communications) – Secured €14M to pioneer entanglement-based encryption networks. The company’s secure channels connect CERN with the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre, achieving 93% photon detection efficiency for classified transmissions.
- Quantum Diamonds (Quantum sensors for naval defence) – Leveraging NV-center quantum sensors, its system detects submarine magnetic signatures at 500m depth, tripling NATO’s undersea detection range.
- Ephos (Quantum hardware infrastructure) – A rising player in quantum networking, developing scalable infrastructure for secure military communication grids.
Drones
Tethered UAVs, ISR drones, and FPV combat swarms are reshaping battlefield surveillance, enabling persistent aerial reconnaissance and rapid-response intelligence gathering.
Key Innovators:
- Quantum Systems (Autonomous ISR drones) – Secured $207M in funding, specializing in AI-driven, long-endurance UAVs. Its Vector platform integrates hyperspectral imaging and swarm technology, enhancing NATO’s battlefield awareness.
- Percepto (Automated drone inspections) – Raised $139.5M for AI-powered drone security systems, used in defence infrastructure monitoring. Its Air Mobile drone enables autonomous reconnaissance for military bases.
- Wingcopter (Tactical drone logistics) – A leader in eVTOL military logistics, raised €119M in 2024. Partnering with NATO forces, it delivers critical supplies in contested areas with a 70% faster deployment rate.
- TEKEVER (Military-grade UAVs) – Backed by $96.4M, TEKEVER’s ISR drones are deployed for real-time threat detection. The AR5 system integrates AI-enhanced autonomous patrol capabilities, providing continuous maritime surveillance.
Data Insights
AI-powered intelligence and cyber resilience tools are essential in modern defence operations, enhancing situational awareness and national security infrastructure.
Key Innovators:
- Mission Space (AI-powered space weather forecasting) – Provides real-time space weather forecasts, aiming to safeguard satellites from geomagnetic disruptions and related threats. mission.space
- WB Group (Military communication systems) – Specializes in advanced communication systems for military applications, contributing to secure and efficient defence operations.
- Disruptive Industries™ (AI-driven defence intelligence) – Raised €4.5M in 2024 to develop next-gen AI for real-time data fusion in military operations. Enhancing tactical intelligence, its platform enables autonomous threat prediction.
- XRF.ai (Advanced radar and signal processing) – Secured €2.57M in 2024 for high-frequency RF analysis, refining electronic warfare detection capabilities across NATO-aligned defence networks.
Robotics & Sensors
Interoperable unmanned systems are redefining land, air, and naval defence, enhancing automation and force-multiplication strategies across military domains.
Key Innovators:
- RobCo (AI-powered industrial robotics) – Raised €39.17 million ($42.5 million) in a Series B funding round in February 2024, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Kindred Capital, and Promus Ventures. RobCo specializes in modular robotic automation solutions tailored for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), facilitating their transition to Industry 4.0.
- ARX Robotics (Autonomous battlefield UGVs) – Specializes in GEREON Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs), designed to perform resupply missions under active artillery fire. These systems have been instrumental in supporting Ukrainian forces, enhancing logistics in contested zones.
- Swarmer (AI-driven swarm coordination) – Secured €2.8 million in 2024 to advance autonomous drone swarming for military reconnaissance and attack missions. Its system enables coordinated operations across aerial and ground units.
Nano-Material Tech
Advanced composites and thermal-resistant materials are improving hypersonic missile durability and aircraft stealth, enhancing the survivability of next-generation defence systems.
Key Innovators:
- iCOMAT (Hypersonic missile materials) – Pioneers in high-temperature composites for hypersonic weapons, with materials capable of withstanding 2,200°C, significantly improving missile durability and aerodynamic efficiency.
- Sintermat (Advanced aerospace alloys) – Develops bio-sourced tungsten alloys, reducing rare-earth dependence by 43%, a crucial step toward sustainable high-performance materials for aerospace applications.
- MetOx (High-performance superconducting materials) – Raised €12M in 2024 for next-generation superconducting cables, crucial for stealth aircraft energy efficiency and advanced electromagnetic shielding.
- Velo3D (Precision additive manufacturing) – Partnered with major aerospace defence contractors to develop high-strength, lightweight titanium alloys, improving aircraft and missile structural integrity.
Launcher Tech
Next-gen satellite launch systems and hypersonic propulsion are redefining space-based defence with more efficient and scalable solutions.
Key Innovators:
- Magdrive (Plasma thruster technology) – Developing compact plasma thrusters using iodine propellants, doubling efficiency over traditional Hall-effect thrusters, and enabling long-duration satellite maneuvers.
- Reflex Aerospace (Modular ISR satellites) – Specializing in highly customizable, rapid-turnaround ISR satellites designed for 48-hour mission readiness, supporting real-time defence intelligence.
- Orbex (Eco-friendly rocket launches) – Raised €40M in 2024 for its low-carbon micro-launcher, utilizing bio-propane fuel, reducing CO₂ emissions by 96%, and advancing European independent launch capabilities.
Inspections, Safety & Maintenance
AI-powered aerospace inspections and automated safety solutions are improving operational reliability and reducing risk across military and defence infrastructure.
Key Innovators:
- Protex AI (Workplace safety AI) – Uses CCTV-based posture analysis to enhance industrial safety, reducing workplace incidents by 80% across defence manufacturing sites.
- Elistair (Automated perimeter surveillance) – Specializes in tethered drones providing 72-hour persistent surveillance for NATO base security, reducing patrol costs and improving situational awareness.
- Donecle (Automated aircraft inspections) – Develops AI-powered drone inspection systems capable of scanning fighter jets and UAVs in under 45 minutes, improving military fleet maintenance efficiency.
Strategic Outlook
AI, quantum, and drone-driven ISR systems are reshaping European defence priorities. NATO’s funding strategy favors specialized startups, emphasizing:
- Autonomous warfare and battlefield AI
- Quantum-secured communications
- Hypersonic and space-based ISR expansion
With 63% of NATO’s €2.1B fund allocated to sub-€50M revenue startups, Europe’s defence ecosystem is prioritizing rapid innovation over scale. The challenge ahead lies in ensuring seamless integration across NATO’s digital battlefield infrastructure.
🔹 Get the full defence tech landscape here
These insights are just the beginning. Discover 1,000+ more defence innovators and emerging trends on Specter.
