Building a Strategic Edge: How Defense Is Fueling Technological Progress
Safeguarding Europe Through Innovation
Join Capital’s Asymmetric Advantage event convened top thinkers from defense, technology, and policy in Berlin to explore how military needs are catalyzing cutting-edge innovation. As host, Join Capital framed the gathering as more than another tech meetup — it was about securing Europe’s future. “This isn’t about ordering pizzas or taxis; it’s about safeguarding Europe’s core industries and sovereignty,” said Jan Borgstädt, a Founding Partner at Join Capital, underscoring that Europe faces an unprecedented opportunity coupled with urgent security challenges.
In opening remarks, retired NATO General Jürgen-Joachim von Sandrart warned that the next three years will define Europe’s strategic independence — immediate investment in practical, deployable defense technology is needed, not distant promises. This imperative urgency set the tone: with war on the continent and rising geopolitical tensions, defense-driven innovation has moved from a niche topic to a European imperative. Venture capital, as several panelists observed, is proving essential to bring new technologies forward at the speed required. Unlike slow traditional procurement, agile startups backed by investors can deliver timely solutions for security needs.
Undersea Monitoring: The Unseen Domain
One of the most compelling takeaways came from Paul Heiden, CEO of Optics11, who highlighted a glaring blind spot in Europe’s surveillance capabilities. “While Europe excels at space-to-sea surface surveillance, we’re virtually blind underwater,” he cautioned. Recent incidents of undersea infrastructure sabotage have exposed how little visibility navies and operators have below the waves. Heiden’s company develops fiber-optic sensing grids that “listen with light” beneath the ocean’s surface, detecting anomalies and potential threats in real time.
The panel heard how defense requirements for securing undersea cables, pipelines, and ports are directly spurring innovation in acoustic sensing and fiber-optic technology. For example, Optics11’s new OptiBarrier system provides a web of undersea sensors to continuously safeguard critical infrastructure. Such technology has clear dual benefits: it deters hostile activity and also protects civilian energy grids and data cables.
Join Capital and other investors recently backed Optics11’s €17 million funding round to scale these solutions, underscoring how venture capital can accelerate deployment of tools that Europe and NATO “urgently need” to secure vital infrastructure. This example of undersea monitoring innovation exemplifies defense driving progress in a domain once overlooked — and doing so with startup agility and private-sector funding. Addressing the undersea vulnerability is now seen as key given today’s geopolitical tensions, and Europe’s militaries are beginning to integrate such cutting-edge systems (the Royal Netherlands Navy’s newest submarines will carry Optics11’s fiber-optic arrays).
In short, defense imperatives are fast-tracking tech innovation on — and below — the oceans, an area where Europe must build a strategic edge.
Dual-Use Technology and Venture Capital’s Role
A recurring theme was the power of dual-use innovation — technologies that serve both defense and civilian needs — and the critical function of venture capital in nurturing these solutions. Panelists noted that many emerging defense-related technologies, from AI software to advanced materials, have commercial applications as well. Investing in dual-use startups ensures that innovations can scale economically while strengthening national security.
Join Capital positions itself as a bridge between the startup ecosystem and defense stakeholders, convening dialogue and providing early-stage funding for companies that might otherwise struggle to navigate government-centric markets. “Private capital is essential to unlocking cutting-edge technologies for the defense sector,” as one panelist remarked, “and the private sector offers unmatched speed and agility in driving innovation”. This agility is exactly what’s needed to get promising ideas out of the lab and into the field.
Patrick Rose of SPRIND stressed how venture funding and public support must work hand-in-hand to support breakthrough technologies in areas like quantum sensors, biotech, and autonomy. Europe’s strategic advantage will come from leveraging its dynamic startup culture in the service of defense and security — without stifling innovation under bureaucracy.
The discussion acknowledged that government programs alone cannot move fast enough in domains like cybersecurity or AI. Venture investors are increasingly stepping in to back dual-use companies, recognizing that defense tech is not just a niche — as one venture partner put it, it may be “the best form of insurance” for a resilient society.
By funding early-stage ventures and guiding them, VCs enable technologies to mature to a point where militaries can adopt them. The panel cited examples of startups working on things like satellite imaging analytics, drone swarms, and advanced materials, all receiving a boost from defense use-cases which validate and accelerate their products.
The key takeaway is that Europe must harness its deep tech startup talent for dual-purpose solutions, and venture capital is a linchpin in that effort.
Accelerating Procurement and Early-Stage Support
Discussion turned to the notorious challenge of defense procurement in Europe — a slow, complex process that can lag behind the speed of technological change. Christoph Ritschel of the Cyber Innovation Hub shared perspectives on how non-traditional approaches are injecting agility into defense programs. The Cyber Innovation Hub, for example, acts as a startup interface within the German armed forces, piloting new technologies and bypassing some red tape to meet urgent needs. Ritschel emphasized that with the security situation deteriorating, “the need for rapid action is undeniable”.
Traditional multi-year development cycles simply won’t cut it when adversaries innovate on shorter timelines. One solution discussed is rapid procurement mechanisms — from defense innovation units to hackathons and challenge programs — that can identify promising tech and get it into the hands of soldiers or operators within months, not years.
The panel highlighted positive steps such as prototype funding, sandbox exercises, and streamlined military trials for startups. Isabel Badia, representing leading defense firm MBDA, echoed the need for faster processes, noting that large industry players are eager to integrate innovative subsystems from startups if the acquisition framework allows it.
She pointed out that early-stage venture support is critical: many European defense startups have great technology but need early customers and capital to refine their products. Public-private partnerships and co-investment schemes can help bridge this gap. Every panelist agreed on one point: speeding up the feedback loop between the military end-user and the tech innovator is essential to outpace evolving threats.
By adopting more agile procurement and providing seed support to emerging companies, Europe can shorten the time from lab to battlefield for crucial technologies. The message was that policy reforms and venture initiatives must converge to create a more startup-friendly defense market, so that promising ideas don’t languish due to bureaucratic inertia. In this way, defense is fueling not only new technology, but also new approaches to getting innovation into service rapidly.
Cross-Border Collaboration for a European Edge
Given that no single European nation can cover the full spectrum of defense innovation alone, cross-border collaboration emerged as a key factor in building a strategic edge. Isabel Badia highlighted MBDA as a success story of multinational cooperation in defense R&D — as a company jointly owned by French, Italian and the UK companies, MBDA’s very structure shows the value of pooling expertise across borders.
“Innovation knows no bounds, and we tap into diverse expertise across different countries,” Badia noted, explaining that working in international teams yields the best solutions for the armed forces. The panel underscored that Europe’s strength lies in its collective talent and industrial base. Collaborative programs, whether bi-national projects or EU-wide defense funds, can share costs and benefits of innovation.
From undersea monitoring in the North Sea to AI-enabled cybersecurity in Estonia, lessons and technologies should be shared across the continent. Cross-border venture initiatives were also discussed — for instance, funds that bring together capital from multiple European countries to invest in defense startups, ensuring that breakthroughs can scale to a European level. Patrick Rose pointed out that disruptive innovation agencies like SPRIND in Germany aim to network innovators across Europe. Such efforts prevent duplication and help a startup in one country find markets and partners in others.
The urgency of the moment was clear: as Europe faces external threats and even uncertainties with traditional allies, pan-European solidarity in tech development is crucial. The conference panelists agreed that a “truly international” approach to innovation fosters a richer ecosystem and ensures Europe delivers the best innovations to its militaries and allies. This means not only government-to-government cooperation but also linking startups with industry giants across borders. MBDA and others actively seek partnerships with universities, SMEs, and startups in different nations, creating an ecosystem of innovation rather than isolated silos. Join Capital’s event itself reflected this principle by bringing voices from multiple countries together on one stage.
In essence, building Europe’s strategic edge will require uniting its diverse strengths — a collaborative approach that mirrors the interconnected nature of modern defense challenges.
Conclusion: Venture-Backed Security for Europe’s Future
To recap, “Building a Strategic Edge: How Defense Is Fueling Technological Progress” lived up to its name by showcasing how security needs are sparking advances across sectors — undersea sensors, AI, space, cybersecurity, and beyond — and how those advances feed back into stronger defense. The panel positioned venture capital not as a passive funder but as an active convenor and enabler of strategic innovation. By bridging startups and defense stakeholders, events like Asymmetric Advantage help ensure Europe’s brightest ideas can be harnessed for its hardest problems.
A note of strategic foresight came from PD Dr. Frank Sauer of Bundeswehr University: “Don’t prepare for the last war, anticipate the next.” This call to look forward encapsulated the panel’s future-oriented mindset. Rather than merely reacting to today’s threats, Europe must innovate now for the challenges of tomorrow. The discussion made it clear that Europe has no shortage of talent, capital, or technology.
“What’s missing is urgency and coordinated action,” as Join Capital’s Jan Borgstädt observed — now is the moment for European VCs, policymakers, and entrepreneurs to step up, because “autonomy and resilience won’t build themselves.” This panel at Asymmetric Advantage ended on an optimistic yet pressing note: by uniting venture investment with defense foresight, and by acting together across borders, Europe can develop the strategic edge it needs across all domains.
