Dutch venture capitalist Keen Venture Partners starts raising its European defense and security tech fund. It is the first investment fund for defense tech in the Netherlands and aims to be one of the largest in Europe.
In total, Keen aims to raise a sum of 125 million euros to help about 20 to 25 startups from seed phase to Series B.
Europe faces a number of strategic and geopolitical challenges that make it necessary to invest in defense technology. It is not without reason that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte recently emphasized in his speech the importance of preparing ourselves mentally for war. The threats at the borders, the war in Ukraine, but also increased tensions with China are putting defense spending under a magnifying glass.
Meanwhile, the defense industry is transitioning from a focus on complex, low-volume systems to adding solutions that are commercial in nature. These solutions have high production volumes, are less complex and have software at their core in achieving superiority on and off the battlefield.
Keen is a Dutch company that claims to play a leading role in building the European defense tech ecosystem. The fund focuses on ‘dual use’ defense and security technology in European NATO countries. This means that the technology is suitable for both military and civilian purposes, such as drone and radar technology. In addition to defense technology, this technology can also be used for other purposes such as disaster relief or environmental monitoring. Keen’s portfolio includes Eclectric IQ, Perciv AI and Avalor AI.
Source: www.emerce.nl
