European Defence, Security and Resilience Startups Hit Record $8.7B VC Funding in 2025
Venture capital investment in European defence, security and resilience startups surged to an unprecedented $8.7 billion in 2025, driven by large late-stage rounds and increasing investor interest in deep tech for security applications.
European startups focused on defence, security and resilience technologies achieved record venture capital inflows in 2025, attracting an estimated $8.7 billion in funding, according to a new analysis by Dealroom and the NATO Innovation Fund.
The figure represents a substantial increase over 2024 and reflects heightened investor appetite for deep-tech firms offering capabilities aligned with strategic security needs from awareness and decision-making systems to secure communications and advanced hardware. A significant share of the capital came from late-stage investment rounds, underscoring growing confidence in commercialisation prospects for these technologies.
Regionally, the UK maintained a leading position in total funding raised, underpinned by several of the largest individual deals in the sector. Germany also featured prominently, with both countries allocating a measurable portion of national venture activity to defence, security and resilience firms. Munich emerged as a notable startup hub, with local companies collectively securing approximately $1.7 billion in venture capital in 2025, up sharply from prior years, and a combined valuation above $22 billion.
Analysis of the funding landscape indicates that artificial intelligence, autonomy, space technologies and next-generation computation accounted for a large proportion of the investments, reflecting broader trends in deep tech where security implications intersect with commercial scalability. Despite the sharp rise in funding, the market has yet to see significant public exits, with few IPOs and a modest volume of mergers and acquisitions, pointing to a maturing but still early-stage ecosystem.
For defence planners and industry observers in Central and Eastern Europe, the record venture capital raises highlight the increasing role of private capital in shaping capabilities that complement traditional defence procurement and public funding mechanisms.
