Three years ago, most European VCs wouldn’t touch defence tech. If your product had even a whiff of military application, the conversation ended.

Why? Because most of the capital in European VC comes from the European Investment Fund (EIF) and British Business Bank. Their rules explicitly banned investments in weapons. “No sex, no gambling, no weapons” was the clause.

Then Ukraine happened. Iran, Israel, and proxy wars in the Middle East. Energy insecurity. Rare-earth dependencies on China. Suddenly, governments woke up.

Now defence tech isn’t just allowed—it’s sexy.

This capital is already minting unicorns. Helsing (AI defence software) hit a $12B valuation in just four years. Quantum Systems (Munich-based drones) and a Portuguese drone manufacturer are following fast.

VCs who swore off defence are now scrambling to get in. Spotify’s Daniel Ek doubled down with a €600M round into Helsing, joined by Plural (Tavet Hinrikus of TransferWise) and US giants like General Catalyst and Accel.

Here’s the part most founders miss: you might already be a defence-adjacent company.

defence tech isn’t just missiles and drones. Governments (and investors) now see “resilience tech” as part of the same ecosystem:

If your product can be positioned as dual use, you unlock a pool of investors who are actively deploying capital today.

And this is important, because defence still only makes up 1.7% of VC deal volume. The pie is small and competitive. But governments are pushing hard to change that—and startups who move now will be the ones who win.

defence tech isn’t easy:

But these obstacles are exactly what make defence startups hard to disrupt. If you break through, you build a moat that B2B SaaS companies can only dream of.

Europe is heading into a decade of strategic autonomy. Governments want to be less dependent on China for rare earths, less dependent on the US for security, and less asleep at the wheel when the next crisis hits.

They are ready to pay for sovereignty. And VCs—who three years ago wouldn’t return your email—are desperate for exposure to this category.

We’re diving into this topic in a big way at Rare Founders’ Open Mic Pitching: defence Edition on the 18th of Aug.

📍 London – Blue Marlin Ibiza London, 45 Curtain Rd, London EC2A 3PT, UK

🎤 Exclusively for startups building in the defence or dual-use space (but open to everyone to attend)

Here’s the plan:

This is the event where you’ll meet people shaping the future of defence tech—and potentially the ones who will back your company.

We’ve just added 260 verified European investors who are actively deploying into aerospace/ defence and dual-use technologies to our private member database.

This isn’t a generic “investor list.” These are the firms that writing real checks in defence tech right now.

Paid Rare Founders members (annual membership) get full access.

1️⃣ Register for the defence Open Mic Event

Come meet investors, founders, and operators in the defence and dual-use ecosystem.

2️⃣ Join Rare Founders Annual Membership

Get access to the 260+ investors actively writing checks into defence tech and aerospace. This database alone could change how you raise your next round.

What else is inside:

The defence gold rush is happening. If you’re building deep tech and don’t position yourself as dual use now, you’ll be left out.

Rare Founders - building the bridge between founders and investors via regular in-person and online events, meetups, conferences.