The VCS is known to move to the herd, which is why Eric Silicanzer stands a bit. Although most US investors chase AI startups or the US -based defense tech startup, former CIA officers suffer from defense -legged deals in Europe. In fact, Silasin, founder 201 VenturesRecently, a million funds focused on the European Defense Tech Startup of the badge stage closed 22 million funds. From producing gadgets and software for CIA agents, to become the only US VC in European Defense Tech, especially in European Defense Tech.
Someone will be forced to leave a “best first job” to achieve this specific ambition in the CIA? As Silicanjer told Tech Crunch in recently Download Podcast Interview StrictlyThe answer was to identify a critical change, which many people remembered. Slassinger explained, “I left because I saw that the private sector was playing its role faster in the competition, which I had previously thought that only the government was to be formed in the official competition.” “The more clear thing every day was that the private sector is playing such a big role here.”
With degrees from Stanford at Mechanical Engineering and Harvard Business School, Silicanjer’s background helped him to eliminate the difference between defense technology and trade projects. But it was his willingness to go against traditional wisdom that made him interesting for investors, founders and Tech reporters One like
“I always enjoy going where other people don’t want to go,” said Slassoner. “That is why I enjoyed the work in the CIA. What the people used to say was, ‘where they do not go and do not do what they can’t do.’
As far as the VCS was missing, there were three things from the Silicanjer’s point of view. First of all, “there are individual businessmen in Europe who are so hungry, just as high as punishment, and as much as anywhere in the world.” Second, “European governments waited a long time to re -consider what their own security arrangements mean, and therefore did not really criticize it.” And third, “In my opinion, Europe was being seen rapidly and it will continue to be a serious gray zone competition,” the activities of the state or non -state actors that fall between traditional peace and clear war.
Perhaps the most amazing aspect of the Silicanjer’s European project has been a cultural resistance, which says he faced defense investment. In 2022, after moving from the United States to Madrid, it launched the European Defense Investor Network, which now includes businessmen, investors and policy makers. In 2023 Medium postSlassoner wrote about how his European VC colleagues are afraid to talk about their defense investment. Unlike the United States, he told Tech Crunch, Defense Tech investment in Europe was “seen as an ink, what should be done but should not be talked about, and definitely has not been talked about in a humble company at the dinner table.” (Slassoner quickly added, “I’m offering a little excessive, but there is a kernel of truth.”)
They say that as a result of cultural hesitation “many founders are thinking about it, and decide that they will not build a company in [defense] Place. Now it is changing-after the NATO Innovation Fund-Russian-Ukrainian war, the world’s first multi-sore venture capital fund, which begins in the summer of 2022.
Taxkarnch event
Berkeley, ca
|
June 5 June
Similarly, the focus has been received by the defensive tech startups in the continent, including Munich -based heelsing, which is producing AI for use in the battlefield and its cost is higher. billion 5 billion Through its investors. Another incoming Dalein Alliance Industries in the Silicanjer’s Portfolio is an Athens -based organization that develops a monitoring tower to detect autonomous threats. Delin has so far picked up Seed financing But this is a hot ticket that is certainly being actively presented by VCS.
To date, with eight investments, 201 ventures have been focused on technologies that point to this gray zone because, in the words of Silasinger, this is “happening on a scale in Europe, and it will be the next two decades.” He said, “This is the market in the market, whether it is incompetent of prices or play a major role in the market that it is otherwise, if you do not want sovereignty …
In addition to Dilin, another condition of the Silicanjer is Polar Mist, which is Swedish Startup, which developed marine drones with modern navigation capabilities. Other focus areas include hypersonics and subset mapping.
One of the challenges in financing defense tech startup is a long development timeline than in the traditional project investment. In his conversation with the Tech Crunch, Slasson recognizes the tension: “If you have a 10 -year -old venture fund life cycle, this is a real thing in which we have to work to try to do something fast or to turn a bit.”
Slasson also thinks that “European companies should lobby in a long time ago.”
Both raise questions about whether its gambling will pay for investors. At the same time, with the increase in geographical political tensions these days, their initial vision for a more independent European defense ecosystem these days is becoming clear to many other investors, and Europe revises its security arrangements.
Data published earlier this year by the NATO Innovation Fund and Research Group Dell Room shows that European Startups, which operates on defense and its related tech, increased 24 % more capital in 2024, killing. .2 5.2 billion – Even to back AI’s financing. President Donald Trump returns to his post in January and doubts the US commitment to European defense, the number is likely to increase even more.