BAE-supported Expeditions secures €197 million fund for European defense startups.

      Expeditions, a Warsaw-based venture capital firm supported by BAE Systems and the NATO Innovation Fund, has finalized a €197 million ($225 million) fund aimed at supporting the next generation of European defense startups. This fundraising marks a surge during which defense giant BAE has invested €50 million in external venture capital firms, leading to an unprecedented influx of capital into Europe’s defense technology sector.

      The newly established Expeditions Fund II surpassed its initial €150 million goal, thanks to a €25 million contribution from BAE. The firm intends to allocate this capital to as many as 40 early-stage companies developing technologies that, as stated by the firm, have immediate operational importance in addressing Europe’s critical capability deficits.

      Expeditions emphasizes a thesis centered around sovereignty, with the aim of cultivating military technologies that Europe can produce and govern itself, rather than relying on imports, especially in light of the capability gaps highlighted by the ongoing war in Ukraine.

      Founded in 2021 by Dr. Mikolaj Firlej and Stanislaw Kastory, Expeditions invests at the crossroads of security and advanced technology, covering dual-use sectors such as cybersecurity, intelligence, autonomy, AI, quantum technology, communications, and space.

      The firm is not new to this domain; it claims to have invested in nearly 30% of Europe’s 30 best-funded defense startups, with its first fund including notable names like Alpine Eagle, Comand AI, Nu Quantum, and Labrys.

      The list of limited partners is impressive, featuring key players in European tech finance, including BAE, the NATO Innovation Fund, Poland's state-backed Polish Development Fund, and several early executives from Skype, Wise, Bolt, and Snowflake.

      BAE's involvement adds an intriguing dimension. The UK's largest defense contractor contributed €25 million to Expeditions and another €25 million to Klaus Hommels' Lakestar as part of its Launchpad initiative. Launchpad is designed as a two-way approach, both commercializing BAE’s laboratory technologies into startups and supporting external founders who can introduce innovative solutions to defense, according to Dave Ewing, the group’s chief of commercialization.

      For a prime contractor, becoming a limited partner serves as both a contingency plan and a gift. It’s preferable to invest in rapidly evolving companies that are generating defense unicorns like Berlin's Stark rather than being taken by surprise, while also providing founders access to BAE’s customers in defense, energy, and manufacturing.

      Firlej expressed the critical nature of the situation when announcing the BAE partnership in June, stating, “Our security can no longer be assumed; it has to be built,” emphasizing that the innovators behind this shift would be founders delivering products in weeks and months rather than years.

      This strategic timing aligns with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the EU's ReArm Europe initiative, which plans to mobilize up to €800 billion, transforming defense technology from a once-taboo venture capital area into the most sought-after sector, attracting space and dual-use startups that previously avoided military engagement.

      Expeditions is not operating in isolation. Lakestar is currently raising approximately $300 million for a defense fund, and the NATO Innovation Fund has been cultivating a network of specialized defense VCs across its member states.

      The statistics supporting this shift are significant. According to Dealroom and the NATO Innovation Fund, European defense, security, and resilience startups achieved record funding of $8.7 billion in 2025, nearly double that of the previous year.

      Looking ahead, Expeditions has already begun investing from Fund II, supporting companies like Lendurai and Orasio. The €197 million capital allows for quick action as governments throughout Europe engage in rearmament. The firm claims to support founders for the long term, providing patient capital in conjunction with its team's operational know-how.

      For a fund established in 2021, prior to the current surge in interest, the successful close of this fund serves as validation. The more challenging test remains whether the startups it supports can translate sovereign aspirations into operational capabilities. Governments are now the primary customers, and they are ready to invest more than ever before.