LONDON - Donald Trump's potential White House return has helped spur a flurry of investment in defence-technology startups across Europe, according to eight prominent industry executives and investors.
Meanwhile, the European Union earlier this year unveiled its first ever defence industrial strategy, committing more than $1 billion towards military innovation. "We want to see faster cycles, broader experimentation, and better capabilities. The planning in a ministry is so slow, and the VC world is one potential answer to this problem," he added.Vsquared's portfolio includes IQM, one of Europe's leading quantum computing companies, and Isar Aerospace, a rocket manufacturer which has itself raised more than 400 million euros of private capital.
"We've become very much reliant on the U.S.," he added. "I talk to a lot of people in defence, and what I'm hearing is that it's very important for European countries to be more self-sufficient. I don't necessarily like it, but that’s the way it’s going." By comparison, investment in local defence technology startups remained relatively resilient, falling 21% in the same period, from $2.6 billion to around $2 billion.
Bulent Altan, founding partner at Alpine Space Ventures, also based in Munich, told Reuters that Europe had been investing in defence-tech in order to be a better partner to the U.S.