Lockheed Martin Ventures Pours $100M Into European Defense Tech

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-17

American VC firm Lockheed Martin Ventures is expanding its reach to European markets in order to invest its $1 billion fund in promising DefenseTech companies from across the continent. The firm will also be opening a London office with the goal of investing at least $100 million of its funding in the United Kingdom and Europe. "We are reaching even deeper into the investing ecosystem, meeting our potential partners where they are," says Chris Moran, vice president and general manager, 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." Lockheed Martin Ventures' plan to deploy part of its investment capacity in Europe comes amid substantial financing activity across the continent's DefenseTech, dual-use, unmanned-systems, and sovereign-intelligence sectors. EU-Startups has seen more than $1.24 billion raised by nine relevant companies, with $1.14 billion of that total coming from Quantum Systems' Series D; the other disclosed rounds together account for approximately $98.5 million. UK-based comparators include London's SatVu and Occam Industries and Bristol's Uplift360, making the United Kingdom — where Lockheed Martin Ventures intends to establish its European office — a visible part of this funding pipeline. ### Why This Move Matters for European Startups This isn't just another investment round. Lockheed Martin Ventures is planting a flag in Europe, signaling that the region's DefenseTech ecosystem has reached a tipping point. For startups, this means access to not only capital but also the kind of engineering talent and research resources that can turn a promising prototype into a deployable product. "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 Building Suppliers 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 matured 60 companies to become suppliers. To date, it has invested more than $500 million in more than 120 companies. Over the past two years alone, 25 companies have been added to the portfolio. Apart from capital, Lockheed Martin Ventures provides portfolio companies with access to resources such as their engineering talent, technologies and research, and the full suite of Lockheed Martin's business and technical expertise. ### The Funding Boost That Made It Possible The focus on European innovation follows the largest boost in available capital in the fund's history, when the company announced in April that it would boost investment capacity from $400 million to $1 billion. Using a portion of that enhanced funding capacity, Lockheed Martin Ventures Europe will accelerate the insertion of new technologies into DefenseTech — part of the company's commitment to strengthen the transatlantic defense industrial base. The firm says that they have already invested in a number of European companies, with the full list available on their site. ### What This Means for You If you're a European DefenseTech founder, this is a moment worth paying attention to. Lockheed Martin Ventures is actively looking for startups that can complement their national security capabilities. They're not just writing checks—they're offering a path to becoming a supplier for one of the largest defense contractors in the world. The key takeaway? The transatlantic defense industrial base is getting stronger, and startups that can deliver innovative solutions in areas like unmanned systems, sovereign intelligence, and dual-use technology are in a prime position to benefit.