The Capital Sovereignty Problem in European Defence-Tech
Who leads the growth round decides what European autonomy means
19 pages · PDF · 04 June 2026 · Licensed single-user copy, watermarked to the buyer
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About this report
European defence-tech has crossed a structural threshold. The sector that European venture investors would not touch before 2020 is now, on the most cited industry measure, the fastest-growing vertical in European venture capital, with a record 8.7 billion dollars raised in 2025 according to Dealroom and the NATO Innovation Fund.
Yet the same source attributes the surge primarily to late-stage mega-rounds, and a parallel industry estimate places United States investors at 40 to 50 per cent of the capital flowing into the sector, concentrated in precisely those larger growth cheques.
Key questions this report answers
- Why has European defence-tech become the fastest-growing venture-capital vertical, reaching 8.7 billion dollars in 2025?
- How does the concentration of the surge in late-stage mega-rounds shape the sector's capital structure?
- What does the estimated 40-50 percent share of US investors imply for European capital sovereignty?
- What dependencies and policy responses follow from reliance on foreign growth-stage capital?
Who it's for
Strategy, corporate-development and investment teams that need an ecosystem-level view — budgets, industrial capacity and technology landscapes — before committing capital or capacity.
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Methodology, format & delivery
DFM reports are built from primary and official sources — TED procurement notices, CORDIS and the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, EIB operations, the NATO Innovation Fund portfolio, SIPRI data, official budget documents and company disclosures — read together with the underlying legal texts. Sources are cited in the document; it reflects them as of its publication date (04 June 2026). You receive a 19-page PDF, watermarked to you on every page, delivered on the confirmation page and by e-mail immediately after checkout (personal link valid 72 hours, up to 5 downloads). Guest checkout, single-user licence — Terms of Sale.
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