2021-2022 was the breakout year for European defense tech as a distinct industry, moving from prime contractor-dominated innovation to venture-backed startups, with ~€200M invested across E…

First wave focused on big platforms (air defense, drones, loitering munitions) informed by Ukraine; second wave targets enabling infrastructure — sensors, software, communications, advanced…

Expedition backed both the leader in quantum networking (New Quantum, seed lead) and quantum computing (Horizon Quantum, now public at $1B+), treating quantum as core defense infrastructure…

Scaling defense tech across Europe is uniquely difficult due to fragmented procurement rules, armament agencies, and domestic champion preferences; Expedition builds dedicated teams with mi…

Products for European militaries must meet strict sovereignty requirements (no Chinese components), unlike Ukrainian battlefield solutions that prioritize speed and cost; this creates a str…

Ukrainian war financing enables rapid iteration with fewer restrictions (Chinese components, daily innovation), while European defense financing requires compliance with sovereignty, certif…

Blackwall's anti-bot cybersecurity product addresses a universal problem (bots >50% of web traffic) with 2x annual growth and excellent unit economics, representing a dual-use defense/comme…

Research with 50+ stakeholders identified space-based intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and sovereign data fusion platforms (European Palantir alternative) as top-10 critical…