Lockheed Martin Ventures Pours $100M Into European Defense Tech Startups

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-17

American venture capital firm Lockheed Martin Ventures is making a big bet on European innovation. The company is expanding its reach across the Atlantic to invest its $1 billion fund in promising DefenseTech companies from all over the continent. ### A New London Office The firm is opening a new office in London, with a goal of investing at least $100 million of its funding in the United Kingdom and Europe. This move signals a serious commitment to tapping into the region's growing defense and security startup ecosystem. "We are reaching even deeper into the investing ecosystem, meeting our potential partners where they are," says Chris Moran, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures. "Our presence will help us seize opportunities for investing earlier in the startup lifecycle, ensure technical interoperability with existing platforms, and better support our allied customers." ### Why Europe? Lockheed Martin Ventures' plan to deploy part of its investment capacity in Europe comes amid a surge in financing activity across the continent's DefenseTech, dual-use, unmanned-systems, and sovereign-intelligence sectors. It's a hot market right now. EU-Startups has tracked more than $1.24 billion raised by nine relevant companies. The vast majority of that—$1.14 billion—came from Quantum Systems' Series D round. The other disclosed rounds together account for approximately $98.6 million. ### UK Startups in the Spotlight UK-based companies are already on the radar. Notable names include London's SatVu and Occam Industries, as well as Bristol's Uplift360. This makes the United Kingdom, where Lockheed Martin Ventures plans to establish its European office, a visible hub in this funding pipeline. "We are looking to invest in technologies that complement the company's national security capabilities and help advance solutions to meet current and future customer mission needs, while further strengthening the transatlantic defense industrial base," adds Dan Tenney, senior vice president of Global Business Development and Strategy. "We expect our investment strategy to evolve as technologies emerge and the startup environment matures in markets where we do business around the world." ### A Track Record of Success Founded in 2007 with initial funding of $100 million, Lockheed Martin Ventures is the investment arm of the American aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin. Since its founding, it has helped 60 companies mature into full-fledged suppliers. To date, it has invested more than $500 million in over 120 companies. Over the past two years alone, 25 new companies have been added to the portfolio. But it's not just about the money. ### More Than Just Capital Apart from capital, Lockheed Martin Ventures provides portfolio companies with access to incredible resources. We're talking about their engineering talent, cutting-edge technologies, research facilities, and the full suite of Lockheed Martin's business and technical expertise. It's like having a superpowered partner in your corner. ### The Biggest Boost Yet This focus on European innovation follows the largest boost in available capital in the fund's history. Back in April, the company announced it would increase its investment capacity from $400 million to $1 billion. That's a massive jump. Using a portion of that enhanced funding, Lockheed Martin Ventures Europe will accelerate the insertion of new technologies into DefenseTech. It's all part of the company's commitment to strengthen the transatlantic defense industrial base. ### What's Next? The firm says they have already invested in a number of European companies. If you're a startup in this space, it's definitely worth watching what happens next. The full list of their European investments can be found on their website. This is a clear signal that American investors see huge potential in European defense and security innovation. For startups in the field, the opportunities are only growing.