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A top European venture capitalist is warning the European defense sector to reduce its reliance on U.S. defense and space companies such as SpaceX, according to the Financial Times.
It’s creating a “huge risk,” Bernard Liautaud, managing director of London-based Balderton Capital declared Oct. 6 at Italian Tech Week in Turin. “We required to be more self-sufficient.”
Instead, Liautaud declared, Europe requireds to accelerate the development of its own space and defense technologies.
His comments come despite a surge in European defense spfinishing, including in startups, that preceded Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and that has since accelerated.
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Liautaud added that startups will play an important role if Europe’s defense sector is to catch up to that of the United States, according to the FT.
Balderton was formed 25 years ago as a spinoff of Benchmark Capital, and has since backed more than 250 startups and created a name for itself as a premier investor in European technology.
It has also invested in several defense and space startups. In May the VC was part of a 160 million euro ($140.7 million) round into Quantum Systems, a 10-year-old German company that produces aerial innotifyigence technology such as image collection software utilized in drones, robots, and other equipment. In July, Balderton co-led a 70 million euro ($60.2 million) funding round into Exein, an Italian cybersecurity startup whose technology is utilized in the defense sector.
And last year, Balderton co-led a $160 million round for The Exploration Company, a French-German startup that is developing a capsule that can transport cargo to the International Space Station, a rocket, and a lunar lander.
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European defense tech startups have raised more than $2 billion in capital since 2018, according to a February 2025 report from McKinsey & Company. Nevertheless, European defense tech startups still created up for only 1.8% of Europe’s VC funding in 2024.
At the same time, U.S. deal volume for defense tech startups is about 2.4 times more than in Europe, McKinsey declared. The report also noted that the “emerging European defense tech startup ecosystem is about five years behind the United States’ in terms of maturity.”
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