Expeditions' €197M defence fund to back 40 early-stage startups across Europe

The European defence tech scene just got a massive shot of venture capital. Expeditions' new €197M fund, oversubscribed from a €150M target, is poised to write first checks into 40 early-stage startups, drawing on an LP base that includes not just defence prime BAE and the NATO Innovation Fund, but also early executives from Skype, Wise, Bolt, and Snowflake. For founders building at the intersection of security and deep tech—from AI and autonomy to quantum and space—this fund represents a new level of institutional validation and a runway to scale critical technologies.

Expeditions, the Warsaw-based venture firm, has closed its second fund at €197 million ($225 million), significantly overshooting its €150 million target. The fund, spearheaded by founders Dr Mikolaj Firlej and Stanislaw Kastory, is dedicated to early-stage European defence and dual-use startups, with a thesis built squarely on technological sovereignty. The close is emblematic of a tectonic shift in European venture capital, where defence tech—once a niche, ethically fraught corner—has become a magnet for institutional capital, driven by the war in Ukraine and a continent-wide scramble to close critical capability gaps. Backed by British defence prime BAE Systems and the NATO Innovation Fund, Fund II is not only a financial instrument but a geopolitical statement: Europe must develop and control its own military technologies rather than relying on imports.

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Expeditions, the Warsaw-based venture firm, has closed its second fund at €197 million ($225 million), significantly overshooting its €150 million target.

The LP roster reads like a cross-section of European tech power. BAE itself committed €25 million to Fund II as part of its broader Launchpad programme, a €50 million initiative that also placed €25 million into Klaus Hommels’ Lakestar. The Launchpad is deliberately two-way, designed to spin out BAE’s lab-developed technologies into commercial startups while also backing outside founders who might bring fresh innovation to defence. Alongside BAE and NATO, anchor investors include Poland’s state-backed Polish Development Fund and a clutch of early executives from Skype, Wise, Bolt, and Snowflake—operators who bring deep scaling experience. This mix of defence industrial, sovereign, and operator LPs creates a unique support structure for portfolio companies, bridging the gap between government procurement and agile startup culture.

Expeditions frames its remit around 'immediate operational relevance to Europe's critical capability gaps.' The fund will deploy capital across up to 40 early-stage companies operating in cybersecurity, intelligence, autonomy, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, communications, and space. The firm has already established a formidable track record with Fund I, claiming to have backed nearly 30% of the 30 most well-funded defence startups in Europe. Portfolio names include Alpine Eagle (counter-drone systems), Comand AI (battlefield decision-making software), Nu Quantum (quantum networking), and Labrys (dual-use drone swarms). This concentration of deal flow signals that Expeditions has become a kingmaker in the nascent European defence tech ecosystem.

The fund close arrives amid a historic surge in defence tech investment on the continent. BAE’s €50 million Launchpad commitment is just one sign of primes actively engaging with the venture ecosystem. The market implications are profound: with more dedicated pools of smart money, the cycle from lab to deployment can compress dramatically, potentially altering the competitive landscape for traditional defence contractors. Moreover, the emphasis on dual-use technologies means that many of the startups backed could find commercial applications in sectors like logistics, telecommunications, and infrastructure, creating exit paths beyond government sales.