DTCP's Project Liberty fund is seeking investors including corporate backers to fund up to 30 European defence tech startups through series C stage.
DTCP, the investment firm anchored by telecommunications firm Deutsche Telekom, has launched Europe’s largest defence technology fund, with a target of €500m ($580m) of capital.
The firm is seeking corporate investors as limited partners for the fund, dubbed Project Liberty, along with institutional investors and family offices. It is expected to invest an average of €20m in up to 30 European defence, security and resilience technologies between series A and C stages.
Technology areas that will be prioritised include software, cyber defence, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems. Project Liberty may selectively also fund tech from NATO member states and close allies that can enhance European security.
The fund launch comes as European countries send small numbers of military personnel to Greenland and prepare for the possibility of deploying troops to Ukraine. But also at a time when the defence tech sector has been busier in Europe than ever, particularly at growth stage.
Several of the largest rounds for European defence and aerospace technology developers in the past year have also notably included corporates. Saab was part of German autonomous defence tech developer Helsing’s series D in June while Dassault Aviation led a $200m round for Helsing’s French peer Harmattan AI earlier this month.
“Project Liberty represents a highly consistent extension of our role as a specialist investment platform. Defence and resilience have been converging with technology and infrastructure investing for more than a decade – precisely where DTCP, through DTCP Growth and DTCP Infra, has deep expertise and numerous touchpoints with the defence industry. There are few areas that fit more naturally with our existing platforms,” said DTCP CEO Vicente Vento in a release announcing the fund.
“At the same time, we see a compelling long-term investment opportunity. For decades, Europe has underinvested in defence while geopolitical risks have steadily increased. In parallel, we are witnessing a profound technological transformation across the entire value chain – from surveillance and sensing to software-defined systems, advanced materials, autonomous platforms and satellite and communications infrastructure.”
DTCP already has several dual-use technology startups in its portfolio, including Quantum Systems, the German drone surveillance startup valued at nearly $3.5bn as of November, in addition to several growth-stage cybersecurity software companies.
