Industry Briefing · UK Defence Tech
UK Defence Technology
The UK defence tech sector includes startups and scale-ups building autonomous systems, electronic warfare, maritime technology, and AI for defence applications. The sector is experiencing significant growth, driven by rising geopolitical tensions and renewed government commitment to defence spending. British and international companies are developing capabilities that are reshaping the industry, backed by a growing cohort of specialist investors and a government increasingly focused on sovereign capability.
UK Defence Tech · 10 companies
Companies
Featured
QuadSAT
QuadSAT is a Denmark-based defence technology company founded in 2017 by Joakim Espeland (CEO) and Andrian Buchi (CTO), who met as mechanical engineering students at VIA University College. Espeland, a Norwegian RF engineer with five years of experience in maritime satellite communications, identified inefficiencies in satellite antenna testing that required expensive ship deployments. The company develops drone-based RF measurement and antenna testing systems, with traction including operational campaigns with OneWeb and the European Space Agency. QuadSAT maintains a UK registered office in London to serve NATO-aligned defence customers across Europe. The company raised €9M in Series A funding led by IQ Capital in 2023, followed by a €5M extension in 2025 led by Join Capital and North Ventures.
Arondite
London
Arondite is a London-based defence technology company building foundational software and AI to power the autonomous age. The company develops a platform that connects disparate autonomous systems, such as drones, ground robots, and AI-powered sensors from any manufacturer, giving human operators clearer oversight and safer operational control. Founded by former Palantir and Helsing veteran Will Blyth and ex-BAE Systems engineer Rob Underhill, the company addresses the growing need for interoperability as militaries adopt a proliferation of new autonomous hardware across the battlefield.
Grayscale AI
London
Grayscale AI is a London-based startup founded in 2020 by Dragos Stanciu, developing neuromorphic AI systems that mimic human neural networks for autonomous drones, robots, and vehicle navigation. Drawing on computational neuroscience research from the University of Edinburgh and ETH Zurich, the company's technology delivers up to 500x greater energy efficiency than traditional computing with edge processing under 100 milliseconds. Grayscale AI has validated its technology through partnerships with HORIBA MIRA, AVL, and Smart Mobility Living Lab London. The company participates in NATO's DIANA accelerator programme and has received grant funding from Innovate UK and the US Army xTech programme, alongside backing from Techstars.
Kraken Technology
London
Kraken Technology Group is a UK-based designer and manufacturer of high-performance uncrewed surface vessels for defence and commercial maritime operations. Founded by Mal Crease, a 25-year veteran of the maritime industry with a background in high-performance offshore racing and Formula One engineering, the company develops modular, open-architecture autonomous vessels using composite materials. Key products include the K3 SCOUT reconnaissance USV, K4 MANTA subsurface delivery platform, and K5 KRAKEN precision engagement platform. Kraken secured a £12.3M Royal Navy order for 20 uncrewed surface vessels under Project Beehive and has partnered with NVL, one of the world's premier shipbuilders, to scale manufacturing globally. The company is backed by the NATO Innovation Fund and UK National Security Strategic Investment Fund.
Overwatch
Wolverhampton
Overwatch Group is an independent British defence company that designs, engineers, and manufactures unmanned aerial systems and precision strike munitions. Founded in 2020 by British forces veterans and headquartered in Wolverhampton, the company builds agile defence technology including the Pholos pack-portable UAS and loitering munitions with kinetic payloads. Overwatch has delivered approximately 800 systems since 2022 and operates with a team of around 30 personnel. The company is self-funded with no disclosed external investment rounds, led by CEO Drew Michael.
Delian
London
Delian Alliance Industries is a Greek and UK-based defence technology company building autonomous systems for NATO and allied forces. Founded by former Apple robotics engineer Dimitrios Kottas, the company takes a vertically integrated approach, developing hardware, sensor fusion, autonomy software, and strike platforms under one roof. Its products include the Lambda Autonomous Surveillance Tower (LAST), which uses video and thermal feeds to detect and track surface targets without GPS, and a pipeline of concealed sea drones. Originally launched as Lambda Automata, the company rebranded and has deployed solar-powered surveillance towers along Greek borders for security and wildfire detection. Delian is headquartered in London with offices in Athens and is positioning itself as a European defence prime for the autonomous warfare era.
Helsing
Munich
Helsing is a defence technology company focused on building AI-powered software and autonomous systems for military applications across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains. Founded in Munich in 2021 by Gundbert Scherf, Niklas Kohler, and Torsten Reil, the company has rapidly scaled to become one of Europe's most valuable defence tech startups, valued at €12B following a €600M Series D led by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek's Prima Materia. Helsing has delivered thousands of strike drones to Ukraine, acquired aircraft manufacturer Grob Aircraft, and unveiled the CA-1 Europa autonomous combat aerial vehicle. The UK is a core operating market: Helsing incorporated its UK subsidiary simultaneously with German operations in 2021, has committed £350M of investment under the UK-Germany Trinity House Agreement, opened an 18,000 sq ft Resilience Factory in Plymouth to produce the SG-1 Fathom autonomous submarine-hunting glider, and holds multiple MoD contracts including the ASGARD programme for AI-enabled battlefield targeting. The company maintains a London HQ at Mortimer Street and actively hires across UK engineering and AI research roles.
Anduril
California
Anduril Industries is a defence technology company that builds autonomous systems and AI-powered platforms for national security applications. Founded in Irvine, California by Palmer Luckey (co-founder of Oculus VR) and former Palantir executives, Anduril takes a Silicon Valley approach to defence contracting, investing its own capital in R&D rather than relying on traditional cost-plus government contracts. Its core product, Lattice OS, is an open operating system that uses sensor fusion, computer vision, and machine learning to connect autonomous hardware across air, land, sea, and space domains. The company's portfolio includes autonomous drones (Ghost, Fury, Roadrunner), counter-UAS systems, and the Ghost Shark autonomous submarine. Anduril doubled its revenue to roughly $1 billion in 2024 and is building Arsenal-1, a major autonomous weapons manufacturing facility in Ohio.
Chaos Industries
Los Angeles
CHAOS Industries is a Los Angeles-based defence technology company that develops advanced radar, sensor, communication, and detection systems for national security applications. The company's flagship platform, Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN), delivers high-performance sensing and electronic effects across land, sea, and air domains. Its commercial radar product, Vanquish, provides early warning and tracking against drones, missiles, and aircraft. Founded by former executives of defence tech firm Epirus, CHAOS has grown rapidly in the counter-drone and critical infrastructure space. The company was valued at $4.5 billion following its latest funding round in late 2025, positioning it as one of the fastest-growing defence technology startups in the US.
ARX Robotics
Munich
ARX Robotics is a Munich-based defence technology company developing autonomous ground vehicles and software platforms for European armed forces. Founded in 2021 by former German Bundeswehr officers Marc Wietfeld, Maximilian Wied, and Stefan Röbel, the company builds modular unmanned ground systems including the Gereon tracked reconnaissance vehicle and Hector scalable autonomous platform, alongside Mithra OS, an AI-powered system for modernising legacy military fleets. ARX systems are already deployed in Ukraine and along NATO's eastern flank, and the company is field testing with British Armed Forces. In 2025, ARX announced a £45M investment in a UK manufacturing facility expected to produce 1,800 autonomous systems annually. The company raised a €42M Series A led by HV Capital.
Backing Defence Tech · 47 investors
Investors
IQ Capital
Founded in 2005, IQ Capital is a leading European deep tech venture capital firm based in Cambridge and London. Its general partners, Kerry Baldwin, Max Bautin, Simon Hirtzel, and Ed Stacey, have worked together for over 20 years. The firm leads rounds from pre-Seed to Series A and follows on via dedicated growth funds with up to £30m per company. Since inception it has partnered with over 200 deep tech founders, attracting $1.4 billion in follow-on capital to its portfolio. Notable investments include Thought Machine (core banking unicorn backed from Seed), Speechmatics, and Nyobolt, with exits to Apple, Meta, Google, Siemens, Qualcomm, and Oracle.
Bloc Ventures
Founded in 2013 by Bruce Beckloff and David Leftley, Bloc Ventures is a specialist deep tech investment company based in London. Unlike traditional VC funds, Bloc operates as a permanent capital company with an evergreen structure, enabling long term support without fund lifecycle constraints. The team comprises engineers and former enterprise leaders from Arm and Vodafone with £500m+ in collective deep tech investments and £5bn+ in exits. Notable portfolio companies include AccelerComm, Crypta Labs, and YellowDog, with exits including EVRYTHNG (acquired by Digimarc).
SwisscomVentures
Founded in 2007 as the corporate venture arm of Swisscom AG, Switzerland's leading telecoms provider, Swisscom Ventures invests in growth companies with emerging technologies of strategic relevance to Swisscom's core business. The firm typically invests from Seed to Series C with initial tickets of $2m to $10m, plus reserves for follow on rounds. Since inception it has invested in over 80 startups, achieving 28 profitable acquisitions, 2 IPOs, and 4 unicorns after an average holding period of six years. Notable portfolio companies include Scandit, Beekeeper, Aircall, Fastly, and Quantenna Communications.
Amadeus
Co-founded in 1997 by Hermann Hauser (co-founder of Acorn Computers/Arm) and Anne Glover, Amadeus Capital Partners is one of the UK's leading deep tech venture capital firms. Based in Cambridge and London with offices in Oxford, San Francisco, and São Paulo, the firm has backed over 200 companies since inception. Its portfolio has produced 5 unicorns, 5 IPOs, and 70 acquisitions, with profitable exits returning up to 18.9x (average 3.5x). Notable investments include Paragraf, PolyAI, Unlikely AI, and Darktrace. The firm also partners with APEX Ventures on an €80m European deep tech fund.
Eclipse
Founded in 2015 by Lior Susan, Eclipse is a venture capital firm focused on transforming essential physical industries through technology. The firm operates a distinctive 'Venture Equity' model, co-founding new companies with senior operators from organisations like Tesla, Amazon Robotics, and Northvolt. Eclipse invests from pre-seed to Series D and backs companies integrating hardware, software, and data across industries representing 75% of global GDP. Notable portfolio companies include VulcanForms, Bright Machines, Augury, Enovix, and Cellares. The firm also partnered with Mayo Clinic to create Nucleus RadioPharma.
Index Ventures
Founded in 1996 in Geneva by Neil Rimer, David Rimer, and Giuseppe Zocco, Index Ventures is a transatlantic venture capital firm operating a 'one fund, one team' model across offices in San Francisco, London, Geneva, and New York. The firm backs founders from seed through to IPO, having invested in 662 companies over 26 years with 65 unicorns, 23 decacorns, and 57 publicly traded companies in its portfolio. Notable investments include Figma, Revolut, Roblox, Scale AI, Wiz, Dropbox, and Etsy. In 2024 Index raised $2.3B in new funds ($800M venture, $1.5B growth), alongside its existing $300M Origin seed fund.
Concept Ventures
Founded in 2018 by Reece Chowdhry (originally as RLC Ventures), Concept Ventures is Europe's largest dedicated pre-seed fund. The firm invests up to $1.5m in first rounds, leading over 90% of deals, and is proudly sector agnostic. Fund I is a top 1% performing fund for its vintage globally, with 100% of portfolio companies that went to market successfully closing their next round. Portfolio companies have collectively raised over $450m in follow on funding. The standout investment is ElevenLabs (voice AI unicorn valued at $6.6B), backed at pre-seed and now representing a 400x return. Other notable investments include VSim, Arondite, and Anam.
Accel
Founded in 1983 by Arthur Patterson and Jim Swartz, Accel is a global venture capital firm investing from seed through growth stage across the US, Europe, India, and Southeast Asia. The firm has backed over 1,170 companies producing 103 unicorns, 47 IPOs, and 381 acquisitions. Its 2005 investment of $12.7m for 10% of Facebook became one of the most lucrative VC bets in history, worth $6.6B at IPO. Other notable investments include Spotify, Slack, CrowdStrike, Atlassian, UiPath, Flipkart, and Freshworks. In 2024/25 Accel raised $650m for its sixth European fund (AI and cybersecurity focus) and $650m for India/Southeast Asia.
Lightspeed Venture Partners
Founded in 2000 by four enterprise founders from Stanford University, Lightspeed is a global multi-stage venture capital firm and pioneer in AI investing, having made its first AI investment in 2012. The firm has backed 957 companies across 28 years, producing 101 unicorns, 38 IPOs, and 257 acquisitions. In December 2025 Lightspeed closed a record $9B fundraise, its largest ever, bringing total AUM to over $40B. With $5.5B deployed across 165 AI native companies, Lightspeed is one of the most active AI investors globally. Notable portfolio companies include Snap, Anthropic, Databricks, Wiz, Rubrik, Affirm, Anduril, and Mistral.
Prima Materia
Founded in 2021 by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and early Spotify investor Shakil Khan, Prima Materia is a private investment vehicle backed by Ek's personal pledge of €1B over a decade into European technology companies. Described as a '100 year project', the firm takes a builder and active owner approach to a small number of long term bets. Prima Materia led the €600M Series D for defence AI company Helsing (valued at $12B) and is an original backer of Neko Health (co-founded by Ek). Other investments include Northvolt, H2 Green Steel, and Pale Blue Dot. The firm focuses on foundational technologies with lasting societal impact.
General Catalyst
Founded in 2000 by Joel Cutler and David Fialkow, General Catalyst is a global venture capital firm investing from seed to growth stage. Named the most active VC investor between 2020 and 2023 by PitchBook, the firm has backed 871 companies producing 90 unicorns, 29 IPOs, and 203 acquisitions. In 2024 GC closed $8B in new capital including $6B for Fund XII, with 25% allocated to Europe. The firm has expanded globally through mergers with La Famiglia (Europe) and Venture Highway (India), and uniquely acquired Summa Health for $485M as a proving ground for its healthtech portfolio. Notable investments include Stripe, Airbnb, HubSpot, Snap, Anduril, Helsing, Mistral, and Canva.
Founders Fund
Founded in 2005 by Peter Thiel, Ken Howery, and Luke Nosek, Founders Fund is a San Francisco based venture capital firm known for its contrarian investment philosophy focused on revolutionary technologies and hard scientific breakthroughs. The firm was the first institutional investor in SpaceX and Palantir Technologies, and an early backer of Facebook. Its portfolio includes notable companies such as Airbnb, Stripe, Anduril, Ramp, Neuralink, and Nubank. In 2025 the firm closed a $4.6 billion growth fund, its largest raise to date, signalling a shift towards concentrated late stage bets.
Sands Capital
Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Sands Capital is an independent staff-owned investment firm operating an integrated platform spanning venture capital, growth equity, and public equity. The firm manages $56B in client assets across institutions and fund sponsors in over 30 countries. Its venture and growth equity arm invests from Series A through to public listing with individual round participation of $10m to $150m. The venture portfolio has produced 11 unicorns, 15 IPOs, and 24 acquisitions, with notable investments including DoorDash, Slack, Samsara, and PolyAI. Sands Capital takes a long term, high conviction approach with deep domain expertise in technology and life sciences.
Valor Equity Partners
Founded in 1995 by Antonio Gracias, Valor Equity Partners is a Chicago based growth focused private equity firm renowned for its deep operational involvement with portfolio companies through its 29 person Scale Group. Valor was an early and long standing backer of both Tesla and SpaceX, and its portfolio of 301 companies includes Anduril, Neuralink, Reddit, xAI, Zipline, and WEKA. Fund VI closed at $2.35B (oversubscribed beyond the $2B target), with an additional $1B in co-investment commitments. The firm also manages Valor Siren Ventures in partnership with Starbucks, Nestlé, Target, and Marriott for food, retail, and sustainability investments.
8VC
Founded in 2015 by Joe Lonsdale (co-founder of Palantir, Addepar, and OpenGov), 8VC is a venture capital firm investing across multiple stages with a thesis centred on an 'American industrial renaissance'. The firm operates a distinctive Build programme, dedicating 25–30% of capital to co-founding startups through an internal venture studio. Its portfolio includes Anduril, Oculus, Guardant Health, Flexport, Joby Aviation, and Illumio. 8VC relocated from San Francisco to Austin in 2020 and has a team of 115 across the US and India. The firm is currently raising Fund VI, targeting nearly $1B.
New Enterprise Associates
Founded in 1977 by Dick Kramlich, Chuck Newhall, and Frank Bonsal Jr, NEA is one of the world's largest and longest running venture capital firms with a distinctive dual practice model spanning technology and healthcare under one roof. Over nearly five decades the firm has made 2,781 investments and completed 1,188 exits. In 2025 NEA deployed over $5.8B across 70 companies, backing landmark rounds for ElevenLabs, Synthesia, Clio, and Wonder. Its portfolio includes globally significant companies such as Databricks, ByteDance, Cloudflare, and numerous public biotech successes. NEA invests from seed through to growth equity, with later stage cheques of $50m to $300m+.
Air Street Capital
Founded in 2019 by Nathan Benaich (PhD, Cambridge), Air Street Capital is a specialist AI focused venture fund operating a solo-GP model. Benaich co-authors the widely read annual 'State of AI Report', positioning the fund as a thought leader in the space. Fund II ($121M, 2023) was anchored by Spotify founder Daniel Ek and Google DeepMind's Jeff Dean. The portfolio of 47 companies includes 8 unicorns such as Wayve, Synthesia, and Adept (acquired by Amazon). Other notable investments include Profluent (programmable biology), V7 (AI data engine), and Black Forest Labs. Check sizes range from $100K to $5M at pre-seed and seed.
Marathon Venture Capital
Founded in 2017 in Athens, Marathon Venture Capital is a seed stage fund backing ambitious Greek and European founders building world class technology companies. The firm typically leads seed rounds with €1m+ cheques for 15–20% equity, with about half of investments originating internationally from across Europe and the US. Fund I is described as a top percentile performer globally in realised returns. Portfolio companies have attracted follow on capital from Bessemer, Bain, 83North, Insight, and Index. Notable investments include Causaly (AI for biomedical research), Hack The Box (cybersecurity training), Augmenta (agritech), and Lenses.io (exited). LPs include the EIF, EBRD, and HDBI.
201 Ventures
Founded in 2023 by Eric Slesinger, a former CIA officer and In-Q-Tel investor, 201 Ventures is an early stage fund dedicated to advancing freedom and autonomy in Europe. It is notably the first fund to receive institutional investment from the NATO Innovation Fund, the world's first multi-sovereign VC fund backed by 24 NATO allies. Slesinger also founded the European Defense Investor Network and organises the European Defense Tech Summit. The portfolio of eight investments includes Delian Alliance Industries (autonomous threat detection, Greece), Ionlace (Sweden), Deep Earth (Germany), and Isembard (UK), spanning hypersonics, biosecurity, subsurface mapping, maritime sensing, and Arctic autonomy.
HCVC
Founded in 2018 by Alexis Houssou, Jerry Yang, and Aymerik Renard, HCVC (formerly Hardware Club) is an early stage venture capital firm investing in companies automating and digitising the physical world. The firm operates a dual model: a VC fund alongside a selective global community of 600+ hardtech startups (sub-7% acceptance rate) offering shared manufacturing, distribution, and supply chain resources through 200 partners including Foxconn and Amazon Launchpad. Fund I ($50M) backed 50 companies; Fund II ($75M, 2023) targets 40 investments. Notable LPs include John Elkann (Stellantis/Ferrari), Toto Wolff (Mercedes F1), and Albert Wenger (USV). Portfolio companies include Cowboy, Renaissance Fusion, Automata, and Span.
SAAB
Founded in 1937 and headquartered in Stockholm, Saab is a Swedish defence and security company with 27,270 employees, SEK 79B revenue (2025), and a $40B market capitalisation. Through Saab Ventures (est. 2001), its corporate venture arm, Saab identifies, invests in, and develops innovative technology companies with a four to seven year exit horizon. The Ventures portfolio spans 10 active companies with 23 investments to date, including Heart Aerospace and spin-offs like C3 Technologies (3D mapping) and Minesto (ocean energy). Saab also makes strategic investments directly, notably backing Helsing (defence AI) and acquiring Blue Bear Systems (autonomous swarms) and CrowdAI (AI/ML). Saab is a key investor and partner in European defence technology.
Microsoft
Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft is a $3T+ technology company and one of the world's largest corporate venture investors. Through M12 (est. 2016, formerly Microsoft Ventures), its corporate VC arm led by Michelle Gonzalez, Microsoft invests $150m to $275m annually from its balance sheet via an evergreen fund structure. M12 has invested in 252+ companies producing 16 unicorns, 4 IPOs, and 57 acquisitions, including Cloudflare and Innovaccer. In 2023 M12 shifted to a thesis-driven model aligned with Microsoft's AI, cloud, and cybersecurity priorities. Separately, Microsoft made a landmark $13B cumulative investment in OpenAI and committed $100B to the Stargate AI infrastructure project.
9Yards Capital
Founded in 2018 by David Fischer, Theo Osborne, and George Osborne (former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer 2010–16), 9Yards Capital is a growth stage technology investment firm focused on critical infrastructure for foundational industries. The firm differentiates itself through a heavyweight Strategic Intelligence Council of former heads of state, defence officials, and national security leaders. George Osborne's policy background, including devising the UK's open banking regime and FCA sandbox, positions the firm to help companies navigate heavily regulated markets. The portfolio of 46 companies includes 13 unicorns and 4 IPOs, with notable holdings including Robinhood, Carta, Coinbase, Toast, Anduril, Chainalysis, and Remote.
Vertex Ventures
Vertex Holdings is a Singapore-based venture capital investment holding company and subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, founded in 1988. It operates a global network of seven independently managed VC funds spanning the US, China, Israel, Southeast Asia, India, Japan, and healthcare. Vertex invests in early- and growth-stage technology and healthcare companies, with over 300 active portfolio investments. Notable portfolio companies include Grab, Cloudera, and Couchbase.
Project A Ventures
Project A Ventures is a Berlin-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2012. Known as "the operational VC," it combines capital with hands-on support from a platform team of over 140 functional experts spanning software engineering, data science, marketing, sales, and recruiting. The firm invests at pre-seed and seed stages across Europe, targeting sectors such as fintech, AI, defence tech, and supply chain software. Notable portfolio companies include Trade Republic, sennder, and Voi, with five unicorns in its portfolio to date.
Omnes Capital
Founded in 1999, Omnes Capital is a Paris-based European private equity firm managing over EUR 6.7 billion in assets across four business lines: renewable energy, resilient cities, deeptech venture capital, and co-investment. The firm's deeptech strategy focuses on energy transition, sovereignty, and applied AI, backing B2B startups from early growth through scale-up. Notable portfolio companies include Novaled (acquired by Samsung), arGEN-X (IPO on Euronext/Nasdaq), and Scality. Omnes is a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.
Material Ventures
Material Ventures is a London-based venture capital firm founded in 2022 by Leon Kirchhoff and Piotr Brzezinski. Backed by US-based tech founders and GPs, the firm invests at pre-seed to Series A in European companies building at the intersection of software and the physical world. Its portfolio includes Isembard, an advanced manufacturing platform for aerospace and defence; Sky Spy, a dual-use defence technology startup; and folk, a CRM platform. The fund has invested in 12 companies to date.
Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel is a co-founder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies who actively invests as an angel through his personal vehicle, Thiel Capital. He is best known for his $500,000 angel investment in Facebook in 2004, which returned over $1 billion. His personal portfolio spans roughly 97 companies, with notable early-stage bets including LinkedIn, Yelp, Twilio, and Zynga. Thiel favours contrarian founders building in areas most investors overlook, particularly defence, AI, and hard science. He operates separately from Founders Fund, the venture firm he also founded.
Balderton Capital
Balderton Capital is a London-based venture capital firm founded in 2000, investing exclusively in European startups from seed through Series B. The firm backs ambitious founders building category-defining technology companies, with a focus on software, AI, fintech, and deep tech. Balderton has raised over $5 billion across its funds and has backed notable companies including Revolut, Citymapper, and GoCardless. The firm is one of Europe's largest and most established early-stage venture investors.
Innovate UK
Innovate UK is the United Kingdom's national innovation agency, operating as part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Established originally as the Technology Strategy Board, it provides grants, loans, expert support and industry connections to help businesses develop and commercialise new technologies. Its flagship programmes include the Biomedical Catalyst, the Growth Catalyst scheme and Bridge AI. Innovate UK has backed companies across quantum computing, clean energy and advanced manufacturing, and is recognised as a key funder behind the UK's position as Europe's leading deep tech hub.
NATO DIANA
NATO DIANA is the Alliance's deep tech accelerator, established in 2022 to connect startups and researchers with defence end-users across 32 Allied nations. It runs competitive challenge programmes, providing non-dilutive grant funding and access to a network of 16 accelerator sites and over 200 test centres. Its 2026 cohort of 150 companies is its largest to date, tackling challenges from contested communications to maritime operations. Selected innovators can also access the linked EUR 1 billion NATO Innovation Fund for follow-on venture investment.
NSSIF
The National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF) is the UK Government's deep tech venture capital fund for national security and defence, operated in partnership with the British Business Bank. Founded in 2018, it invests commercially in early-stage startups developing dual-use technologies with applications across both the private sector and the national security community. Its portfolio includes companies in quantum computing, photonics, AI, autonomous systems, and semiconductors, with notable investments in Orca Computing, Riverlane, Quantum Motion, and Nu Quantum.
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is a global venture capital firm that partners with founders from seed stage through to growth, investing in technology companies across AI, enterprise software, fintech, healthcare, cybersecurity, and consumer sectors. Founded in 1972 and headquartered in Menlo Park, the firm also operates a London office covering Europe and Israel. Sequoia manages approximately $56 billion in assets and has backed companies including Apple, NVIDIA, Airbnb, SpaceX, and OpenAI. The firm provides hands-on operational support alongside capital.
SmartCap
SmartCap is an Estonian state-owned venture capital fund manager, established in 2011 as a subsidiary of the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency. It operates under a licence from the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority, managing over 400 million euros across three funds: a Venture Capital Fund, a Green Fund, and a Defence Fund. SmartCap provides cornerstone investments to private VC fund managers and makes direct investments in early-stage companies, with a mission to develop Estonia's venture capital market and help innovative companies scale globally.
Superangel
Superangel is an Estonian early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2017 by Veljo Otsason and Rain Rannu. Based in Tallinn, the firm invests pre-seed and seed capital in deep tech startups across the Baltics and Nordics. Its second fund targets EUR 50M and focuses on companies with meaningful engineering or scientific innovation. Superangel operates as both an investor and company builder, and its team's track record includes early backing of unicorns such as Bolt, Veriff and Pipedrive.
ACT Venture Partners
ACT Venture Partners is a European early-stage venture capital firm that invests in deep tech startups at the pre-seed and seed stages. The firm writes initial cheques between EUR 500K and EUR 1.5M, typically serving as the first institutional investor. ACT supports portfolio companies with fundraising, hiring, grant access, and strategic partnerships, drawing on a global advisory network. The firm is an approved Innovate UK Investor Partner, reinforcing its commitment to backing transformative technologies across Europe and the UK.
GM Ventures
Founded in 2010 as the corporate venture capital arm of General Motors, GM Ventures invests in startups developing technologies that advance the future of transportation and mobility. The firm targets four strategic pillars: electrification, autonomous driving, connected vehicles, and digital enterprise. With offices in Detroit, Silicon Valley, and Israel, the fund has backed over 56 companies and produced four unicorns. Notable portfolio companies include Cruise Automation (autonomous vehicles), Proterra (electric buses), and Turo (peer-to-peer car sharing).
IQT
In-Q-Tel (IQT) is an independent, not-for-profit strategic investment firm established in 1999 to deliver cutting-edge technology to the CIA and the broader US intelligence community. Backed by government funding, it identifies and invests in early-stage startups whose technologies can address national security challenges. IQT has backed over 800 companies across frontier domains and helped launch firms including Palantir Technologies, Keyhole (later Google Earth), and MongoDB. It operates globally from offices in Arlington, London, Sydney, Munich, and Singapore.
In-Q-Tel
In-Q-Tel (IQT) is an independent, not-for-profit strategic investment firm established in 1999 to deliver cutting-edge technology to the CIA and the broader US intelligence community. Backed by government funding, it identifies and invests in early-stage startups whose technologies can address national security challenges. IQT has backed over 800 companies across frontier domains and helped launch firms including Palantir Technologies, Keyhole (later Google Earth), and MongoDB. It operates globally from offices in Arlington, London, Sydney, Munich, and Singapore.
Join Capital
Join Capital is a Berlin-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2015 that invests in deep tech, industrial tech and enterprise tech startups across Europe. The firm focuses on Seed and Series A rounds, typically investing between EUR 1 million and EUR 5 million per deal. Its portfolio spans smart machinery, robotics, defence, dual-use and space technologies. Join Capital is currently raising its third fund, targeting EUR 235 million, with the European Investment Fund committing EUR 50 million through the InvestEU Defence Equity Facility. The firm has invested in over 35 companies across 10 European countries.
Mubadala
Mubadala Investment Company is a sovereign wealth fund owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi, managing over $300 billion in assets across more than 50 countries. The fund invests globally across technology, energy, healthcare, and infrastructure, with a focus on long-term value creation and economic diversification. Notable investments include a major stake in GlobalFoundries, one of the world's largest semiconductor manufacturers, significant backing of clean energy through Masdar, and substantial commitments to venture capital via partnerships with funds such as Silver Lake and SoftBank Vision Fund.
Presidio Ventures
Presidio Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of Sumitomo Corporation, one of the world's largest integrated trading companies. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the firm invests in early- to growth-stage startups with innovative technologies across enterprise software, AI, robotics, and sustainability. With offices in Silicon Valley, London, and other global hubs, it helps portfolio companies access Sumitomo's worldwide network. Notable investments include cybersecurity giant Fortinet, spatial AI company SLAMcore, and enterprise software firm Azul Systems.
Scania Invest
Scania Invest is the in-house corporate venture capital arm of Scania, the Swedish heavy vehicle manufacturer owned by the TRATON Group. Founded in 2024, it invests across all stages in four strategic verticals: Energy and Infrastructure, Autonomous and Supply Chain, Asset Management and Circularity, and Deep Tech. Notable portfolio companies include Nyobolt (ultrafast-charging batteries), Neutreeno (supply chain decarbonisation), and Cosmos Innovation. The fund leverages Scania's industrial capabilities to support portfolio companies as a long-term strategic partner.
Seedcamp
Seedcamp is a London-based pre-seed and seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2007. The firm backs ambitious founders building category-defining technology companies across Europe, with a focus on products that can scale globally. Seedcamp typically invests at the earliest stages, providing capital alongside operational support and access to a strong network of mentors and alumni. Notable portfolio companies include Wise, UiPath, and Revolut. The firm has backed over 400 companies across multiple funds.
Seraphim Space
Seraphim Space is a London-based venture capital firm founded in 2016 and led by CEO Mark Boggett. It is the world's most active investor in SpaceTech, managing over $550 million across public and private funds. The firm backs early-stage companies developing satellite, geospatial, and space infrastructure technologies. Its portfolio spans more than 145 startups across 33 countries, including notable investments such as ICEYE, Spire Global (NYSE: SPIR), and HawkEye 360.
Superseed
Founded in 2018 by Mads Jensen and Dan Bowyer, SuperSeed is a London-based venture capital firm that backs pre-seed and seed-stage technical founders applying AI to physical industries. The firm focuses on B2B companies bringing artificial intelligence to manufacturing, logistics, construction, defence, energy, and infrastructure. Every partner at SuperSeed has founded, scaled, and exited technology companies. Across two funds, SuperSeed has invested in 38 companies, with notable portfolio investments including Hive Autonomy, Ai Build, and OctaiPipe.
Wing VC
Wing Venture Capital is an early stage venture firm founded in 2013 and based in Palo Alto, California, focused exclusively on enterprise B2B technology companies. The firm invests at the stealth, seed, and Series A stages in companies building the AI-first technology stack, targeting pre-product and pre-revenue companies at defensible layers. Wing has made 299 investments across nine funds, with 21 companies achieving billion-dollar-plus outcomes following IPOs or acquisitions. Notable portfolio companies include Snowflake, Cohesity, and Gong.
Defence Tech · 55 roles
Open Roles
Software Engineer
Deployed Software Engineer
AI Research Engineer - AI Safety
AI Research Engineer - Computer Vision
AI Research Engineer - Reinforcement Learning
Analog/Digital R&D Electronic Engineer - Physical Products
Software Engineer, Modelling & Simulation, Advanced Capabilities
Senior Program Manager, Connected Warfare - UK
Multinational Digital Infrastructure - Senior Cloud Engineer
Electrical Engineer
Teamcenter / PLM Administrator
Technical Operations Engineer
Forward Deployed Engineer - Software
Rigs Engineering Technician
Senior Supply Chain Specialist
Software Engineer, Front End
Software Engineer, Full Stack
Software Engineer, Mission Autonomy
Warfighter Research Systems Specialist
DevOps Engineer
Deployment Strategist
Deployed Network Engineer
AI Research Engineer - Foundation Models
AI Research Engineer - ML Engineering
Deployed AI Engineer
Site Reliability Engineer
Site Reliability Engineer - Nix/NixOS
Software Engineer - Backend
Software Engineer - Embedded NixOS
Software Engineer - Frontend
Deployed Product Designer
Graphic Designer
Field Logistics Associate
PLM Administrator
Senior Stress Engineer
Support Systems Lead, Seabed Sentry
Finance Administrator
Financial Accountant
Health & Safety and Environment Manager
HRIS & Systems Lead
Mechatronics R&D Engineer
Production Engineer - Maritime
Workplace Planning Lead
Mission Software Engineer
Senior Program Manager, Standards and Safety
Test & Evaluation Engineer, Maritime
Test & Evaluation Engineer, Maritime
Mission Execution (UK)
FP&A Team Lead
Product Manager
Social Media Manager & Copywriter
Head of Talent Acquisition, International
Senior Program Manager, Standards and Safety
Software Engineer
Talent Operations Coordinator - 12 month FTC
Common Questions
About UK Defence Tech
What is the UK defence tech sector?
The UK defence tech sector is a growing ecosystem of startups and scale-ups building technology for national security and defence applications. This includes autonomous systems, electronic warfare, maritime technology, advanced materials, and AI for defence. The sector is driven by increased MoD spending, the AUKUS agreement, and a government focus on sovereign capability.
Which UK defence tech startups are hiring?
UK defence tech companies actively hiring include both homegrown startups and international firms with UK operations. Roles span software engineering, hardware engineering, systems integration, and security-cleared positions. Hard Tech UK maintains a live directory of open roles at defence tech companies across London, Bristol, and other UK locations.
Who invests in UK defence tech?
UK defence tech investors include specialist funds focused on dual-use and national security technology, as well as generalist venture capital firms with defence allocations. Government-backed programmes and defence primes also invest in early-stage defence startups through corporate venture arms and procurement partnerships.
What skills are needed for UK defence tech jobs?
Defence tech roles typically require expertise in software engineering, embedded systems, robotics, AI/ML, or hardware engineering. Many positions require or prefer UK security clearance (SC or DV). Domain experience in autonomous systems, electronic warfare, or maritime technology is valued but not always required, as many companies hire from adjacent sectors.
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