European defense startups to raise record $10.5 billion in 2026, Dealroom forecasts

PARIS — European defense startups are forecast to raise a record $10.5 billion of funding this year, roughly four times the $2.6 billion raised a year earlier and led by investments in firms developing drone technology, according to Dealroom, which tracks data on venture capital funding.

Defense startup funding in Europe already reached $7.4 billion as of Sept. 20, led by so-called “mega rounds” raised by Germany’s Helsing and Quantum systems, Dealroom and Resilience Media said in their annual State of Defence Tech report published Monday. That compares to $1.5 billion of funding for European startups in the defense space as of September a year earlier, based on the 2025 report.

Europe is grabbing a growing share of the defense-tech investment pie, with the European Union accounting for 21% of defense startup funding raised by September, from 15% last year. The share of the United States fell to 75%, the lowest ever, according to the Dealroom data.

“This is Europe catching up rather than the U.S. slowing,” Dealroom said. “EU 27 funding more than doubled in a year.”

Mega rounds made up more than 85% of the venture capital invested in European defense startups this year, including Helsing’s $1.8 billion Series E round in July according to Dealroom. German startups have set every fundraising record in European defense-tech venture capital funding since 2023, the report said.

Across NATO countries, defense startups raised $27.1 billion in venture capital so far in 2026, already more than $14.5 billion raised in all of 2025, and the amount is forecast to total $38.5 billion by the end of December.

Europe is channeling the largest share of venture capital into drones and autonomous systems, which accounted for 74% of the funding in the EU and 77% in the United Kingdom, compared to 57% in the United States. European startups in that segment that raised money included Helsing, Quantum Systems and Stark in Germany, Harmattan AI in France and Cambridge Aerospace in the U.K.

In Europe, the segment of unmanned aerial vehicles accounted for $4.7 billion raised as of September, according to the Dealroom data, followed by Earth observation and satellite imagery with $1.8 billion, anti-drone solutions and launch vehicles, each with $1.2 billion, and maritime robotics, with $796 million raised.

European startups in ground robotics, or unmanned ground vehicles, are trailing for now, with $77.6 million of venture capital funding so far this year, according to the Dealroom data.

Germany is the top European country for defense venture capital funding this year, with $3.5 billion raised, ahead of Finland with $1.2 billion, the U.K. with $932 million and France with $376 million. Munich is the European defense tech capital, attracting $3 billion in VC funding as of Sept. 20, ahead of Helsinki, London, Berlin, the English city of Cambridge, and Paris.

“Munich is the powerhouse of the European defense tech ecosystem,” Dealroom said. “Helsing and Quantum Systems drive most of it, together worth $25.7 billion. Behind them a younger cohort is forming across ground robotics, counter-drone and hypersonics.”

Funding for defense startups is diversifying as the sector grows, and total private investment in NATO defense startups, which also includes private equity, debt and grants, is forecast to reach $42.7 billion from $16.9 billion a year earlier, according to Dealroom.

Defense is the fastest-growing sector in Europe in terms of startup funding, ahead of space and robotics, according to Dealroom. Defense accounted for 15% of overall venture capital funding in the EU, from 6.2% reported a year earlier, while across NATO, defense attracted 4.9% of venture-capital funding as of September.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——据追踪风险投资数据的Dealroom称，预计今年欧洲国防初创企业将筹集创纪录的105亿美元资金，约为去年筹集的26亿美元的四倍，其中大部分投资流向了开发无人机技术的公司。

据Dealroom和Resilience Media周一发布的年度《国防科技现状报告》显示，截至9月20日，欧洲国防初创企业的融资总额已达74亿美元，其中德国Helsing和Quantum Systems等公司完成的所谓“巨额融资”领涨。相比之下，根据2025年报告，去年同期欧洲国防领域初创企业的融资总额为15亿美元。

欧洲在国防科技投资领域占据的份额越来越大，截至9月份，欧盟已占国防初创企业融资总额的21%，高于去年的15%。据Dealroom的数据显示，美国的份额则降至75%，创历史新低。

“这是欧洲在迎头赶上，而不是美国在放缓步伐，”迪尔鲁姆说。“欧盟27国的资金在一年内增加了一倍多。”

据Dealroom的数据显示，今年欧洲国防初创企业获得的风险投资中，超过85%来自巨额融资，其中包括Helsing在7月份完成的18亿美元E轮融资。报告指出，自2023年以来，德国初创企业在欧洲国防科技风险投资领域屡创融资纪录。

截至2026年，北约各国国防初创企业已筹集了271亿美元的风险投资，而2025年全年已筹集超过145亿美元，预计到12月底，这一数字将达到385亿美元。

欧洲正将最大份额的风险投资投入无人机和自主系统领域，欧盟74%的资金和英国77%的资金都流向了该领域，而美国这一比例为57%。获得融资的欧洲无人机和自主系统领域初创公司包括德国的Helsing、Quantum Systems和Stark，法国的Harmattan AI以及英国的Cambridge Aerospace。

根据 Dealroom 的数据，截至 9 月，欧洲无人机领域融资额达 47 亿美元，其次是地球观测和卫星图像领域，融资额为 18 亿美元，反无人机解决方案和运载火箭领域各融资额为 12 亿美元，海上机器人领域融资额为 7.96 亿美元。

根据 Dealroom 的数据，欧洲地面机器人或无人地面车辆领域的初创企业目前发展滞后，今年迄今为止仅获得 7760 万美元的风险投资。

今年，德国以35亿美元的融资额位居欧洲国防风险投资额榜首，领先于芬兰（12亿美元）、英国（9.32亿美元）和法国（3.76亿美元）。慕尼黑是欧洲国防科技之都，截至9月20日，已吸引30亿美元的风险投资，领先于赫尔辛基、伦敦、柏林、英国剑桥和巴黎。

“慕尼黑是欧洲国防科技生态系统的中心，”迪尔鲁姆说。“赫尔辛和量子系统公司是其中的佼佼者，两家公司合计价值257亿美元。在它们身后，一批年轻一代正在地面机器人、反无人机和高超音速武器领域崭露头角。”

随着国防领域的增长，国防初创企业的融资来源也日益多元化。据 Dealroom 预测，北约国防初创企业的私人投资总额（包括私募股权、债务和赠款）预计将从一年前的 169 亿美元增至 427 亿美元。

根据Dealroom的数据，国防是欧洲初创企业融资增长最快的领域，超过了航天和机器人领域。在欧盟，国防领域的风险投资占比从一年前的6.2%上升至15%；而在北约，截至9月份，国防领域的风险投资占比为4.9%。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。