The European Investment Fund (FEI) announced a commitment of 40 million euros in the new Keen Venture Partners fund, dedicated to defense, security and space technology. This institutional support, unprecedented in this sector, illustrates a strategic inflection of the European Union in terms of innovation and industrial sovereignty. According to a study of Kiel Institutean increase in European military spending by 2 % to 3.5 % of GDP, accompanied by a refocusing on intra-European purchases, could generate between 0.9 % and 1.5 % additional economic growth per year.
Europe looking for a sovereign innovation model
Keen Venture Partners, based in Amsterdam and London, thus becomes the first European fund to receive a capital investment in Fei for a vehicle exclusively centered on defense. The first fence of the fund is expected in the third quarter of 2025. With an overall target of 125 million euros, this fund aims to support 20 to 25 European startups, from Seed to series B.
This initiative is part of a context marked by sustainable geopolitical tensions. The conflict in Ukraine, persistent dependence on non-European suppliers and American injunctions to better collective support for the defense of Europe push institutions to review their intervention model.
In his press release, Keen Venture Partners underlines the urgency:
“” Europe must imperatively strengthen its defense capacities. The continent is directly threatened in the East, while the war waged by Russia in Ukraine continues tirelessly. »»
Structuring support from FEI
The FEI intervenes here via the Defense Equity Facilityrecently launched, and the mandate INVESTEU Spaceby targeting dual use technologies. The objective is to accelerate the emergence of a European ecosystem capable of producing its own solutions of cybersecurity, applied artificial intelligence, robotics, or even spatial communication and observation systems.
“” The mission of making Europe stronger and safer by supporting Tech Defense entrepreneurs benefits from decisive support with this FEI investment in our fund »»says Alexander Ribbink, partner at Keen Venture Partners
The fund is distinguished by its sectoral anchoring, Keen Venture Partners already follows more than 800 technological companies active in defense on a European scale, and is based on an advisory committee made up of experts from the military, industrial and regulatory sector.
The entrepreneur, new link in the strategic chain
The bet of Keen Venture Partners is based on the idea that startups can play a structuring role in European defense: more agile, capable of developing dual solutions, they contribute to better economic efficiency and a faster adoption of technologies in the field.
“To build a solid ecosystem in tech defense, venture capital is essential in order to quickly industrialize solutions and anchor their impact in duration”specifies the fund. By focusing on technologies also applicable to civilian areas, crisis management, environmental surveillance, protection of critical infrastructure, Keen Venture Partners adopts an investment strategy that is both pragmatic and structuring.
The existing portfolio already includes startups such as ECLECTIC IQ,, Rescc,, Perciv ai And AI AIpositioned on cybersecurity, high performance calculation or automated analysis of strategic data.
A dynamic that exceeds Keen Venture Partners
Other French funds have also structured their action around the challenges of technological and defense sovereignty. The Public Fund Definvestlaunched by Bpifrance and the Ministry of the Armed Forces, supports the strategic SMEs of the BitD. Funds like Expansion Ventures,, Karista (via space), or Safran Corporate Ventures Also strengthen the Dual ecosystem by investing in critical technologies: cybersecurity, on -board AI, sovereign components.
To these actors is added UFO Capitalindependent French fund specializing in Duals deeptechs for uses. His portfolio includes in particular Troutspecialized in industrial cybersecurity, and Vendictin the automation of regulatory compliance. OVNI Capital stands out as an emerging actor in priming in strategic fields.
The rise of Keen Venture Partners, with the support of FEI, is therefore part of a broader movement of consolidation of technological defense sectors on a European scale, mixing public, industrial, and independent venture capital.
