October 28, 2026
Tough Tech by the Tough Ten – 2026
Venture investment on Europe’s Eastern Flank is projected to reach $2.3B in 2026, more than double last year’s record. This second edition maps defence, space and resilience startups, investors and policies across ten countries from Finland to Bulgaria. It is published with Coinvest Capital, NATO Innovation Fund, BSV Ventures, Balnord, DEPO Ventures, Sparkmind Capital, TEGOS, ILTE and Resilience Media.
Get the complete report
Fill out the form below to access the full report.
Selected charts
Companion charts derived from this report — open any chart in full-screen on the right side.
Defence and resilience startups on Europe’s eastern flank raised a record $1.7B in 2026
Defence, security and resilience startups in the ten countries from Finland to Bulgaria raised $1.7B by October 2026, against $1B in all of 2025.
On Europe’s eastern flank, 32% of venture capital goes to defence and resilience startups
Defence, security and resilience startups took 32% of venture capital in the ten countries from Finland to Bulgaria, against 16% in the rest of Europe and 8% in the US.
Defence spending on Europe’s eastern flank has more than doubled since 2016
The ten countries from Finland to Bulgaria spend an average of 3.3% of GDP on defence in 2026, up from 1.5% in 2016 and more than the 3.2% of the United States.