Last week, representatives of the European Union’s member states approved the Council’s position on a proposal intended to stimulate defense-related investment within the EU budget. The initiative is part of ReArm Europe, a broader plan to boost defense spending and enhance the Union’s military capabilities, aiming to break bureaucratic barriers.
Amid this shifting strategic landscape, venture capital is pivoting. For investors across Central and Eastern Europe, defense is becoming a long-term strategy (check out The state of defense and cybersecurity tech in CEE). The region’s venture funds are moving early to back technologies that could define Europe’s next decade of security.
Please feel free to contact us if we missed something: [email protected]. / The funds are presented in alphabetical order.
Angel One Fund (Ukraine)
Angel One Fund is backed by the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) and invests in Ukrainian startups across sectors, including defense and dual-use, with ticket sizes typically between $50,000 and $200,000.
Due to internal policy constraints, it sometimes acts as an intermediary or syndicator rather than direct investor into defense tech, facilitating connections between private investors and dual-use startups.
BSV Ventures (Baltics)
BSV Ventures is a pre-seed/seed dual-use and deep tech, investing in startups at the “Beyond Scientific Validation” stage. The firm has closed a €15 million fund with backing from NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), Lithuania’s ILTE fund under the Accelerator 2 programme, and private investors from across Europe.
BSV Ventures aims to back early-stage innovators from the Baltics and EU in technological domains such as mechatronics, biotech, functional genomics, space technologies, AI, and more.
D3 Venture Capital (Ukraine)
D3 VC is an early-stage defense tech / security innovation fund based in Kyiv, founded in 2022–23, that backs startups working in dual-use, drone, sensor, AI, and military software domains.
It offers not only capital but also tailored support, mentorship, and access to state actors, end users to help accelerate deployment and scaling.
Double Tap Investments (Ukraine / British-Finnish)
Double Tap Investments (DTI) is a VC that partners with Ukrainian founders to invest in defense tech solutions, especially those with global scaling potential.
It has made deals such as in Hard Cat Drones (riverine & maritime unmanned systems) and Black Forest Systems (UAVs), typically in the $100K–$300K ticket range.
Expeditions (Poland)
Warsaw-based venture capital firm Expeditions invests in early-stage dual-use companies across deep tech sectors including cybersecurity, defense & intelligence, autonomy, AI, quantum, privacy, communications solutions and space.
Earlier this year, the VC firm announced the first close of Fund II, with €100 million committed and a target of €150 million. Expeditions received backing from the NATO Innovation Fund and the Polish Development Fund, with the final close scheduled for the end of 2025.
Green Flag Ventures (Ukraine)
Green Flag Ventures focuses specifically on backing Ukrainian founders building battle-tested dual-use, cyber, and AI technologies that can scale to NATO and commercial markets.
Its investment strategy targets early stages (pre-seed to Series A) with ticket sizes often between €100K and €600K.
MITS Capital (USA / Ukraine)
MITS Capital focuses on Ukraine’s defense industrial base, aiming to scale dual-use and defense technologies. The firm combines a venture fund, accelerator, and financial advisory.
To date, the MITS Lightning Fund has invested in 11 companies developing critical defense and dual-use technologies.
In September, MITS Capital announced a new defense technology initiative, uniting major Ukrainian drone-warfare components producers.
NEZLAMNI Fund (Ukraine)
Nezlamni is a seed-stage venture fund launched in mid-2024, with a mandate to invest in defense and dual-use startups in Ukraine.
It typically deploys investment tickets in the 100,000–$400,000 range and has made early bets in companies such as Buntar Aerospace, Ailand Systems, and Mantis Analytics.
Presto Tech Horizons (Czech Republic)
Presto Tech Horizons is a dedicated defense, security, and resilience technology VC fund launched in 2024 as a joint effort between Presto Ventures and the Czech industrial-defense group Czechoslovak Group (CSG).
PTH is primarily interested in companies, across NATO countries and allied nations, developing dual-use solutions that can serve both civilian and security purposes. Its typical ticket size is in the €300K to €3M range, and its aim is to back 30–50 such ventures while leveraging CSG’s industrial knowhow and market access to help portfolio firms scale.
OTB Ventures (Poland / Netherlands)
OTB Ventures is a CEE-rooted deep tech VC, founded in 2017, with offices in Warsaw and Amsterdam, managing over $350 million in assets under management.
It invests in companies at late seed to Series A/B stages across its four core verticals: SpaceTech, Enterprise Automation & AI, Cybersecurity, and FinTech Infrastructure. While not positioning itself as a “pure defense fund,” it has aligned with dual-use ambitions, its second fund is backed by the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), and sees crossover between advanced civilian deep tech and defense/security applications.
SMRK (Ukraine)
SMRK is a Ukrainian VC fund founded in 2013, primarily investing in IT / software startups at seed through Series A stages, focusing on globally scalable products.
While not exclusively a defense fund, it has participated in defense or dual-use adjacent deals (e.g. VR therapy for veterans, media analytics) in co-investments or syndicates.
