European defense startups to raise record $10.5 billion in 2026, Dealroom forecasts

PARIS — European defense startups are forecast to raise a record $10.5 billion of funding this year, roughly four times the $2.6 billion raised a year earlier and led by investments in firms developing drone technology, according to Dealroom, which tracks data on venture capital funding. Defense startup funding in Europe already reached $7.4 billion as of Sept. 20, led by so-called “mega rounds” raised by Germany’s Helsing and Quantum systems, Dealroom and Resilience Media said in their annual State of Defence Tech report published Monday. That compares to $1.5 billion of funding for European…