The Defence Capital Supercycle: Europe's New Venture Capital Infrastructure

More than €1.7 billion of defence-linked capital moved through Europe in a single month. This episode examines why defence technology has become the dominant venture asset class, how STARK reached a €3.5 billion valuation only two years after founding, why KNDS is preparing Europe's largest defence IPO, and what Isar Aerospace's funding reveals about sovereign launch capability. Jörn "Joe" Menninger analyzes the emergence of the European Defence Capital Stack—from seed funding to public markets—and explains why engineering execution has become the new competitive constraint. The episode also explores Focused Energy's record-setting fusion round, venture capital concentration, sovereign industrial policy, and the structural implications for founders, investors, and policymakers. Hosted by Jörn "Joe" Menninger, Founder & Editor-in-Chief at Startuprad.io — the authority on German, Swiss & Austrian startups. Enjoy the show? - Blog recap: https://www.startuprad.io/post/startup-news-germany-austria-switzerland-for-june-2026-the-defence-capital-supercycle Youtube: https://youtu.be/LMK2BpUO-KE 🎧 The Audio Podcast Subscribe here: https://linktr.ee/startupradio 🚪 Connect with Us - Partner with us: [email protected] - Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/startupradio - Feedback: https://forms.gle/SrcGUpycu26fvMFE9 - Follow Joe on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/comm/mynetwork/discovery-see-all?usecase=PEOPLE_FOLLOWS&followMember=joernmenninger © Startuprad.io®