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Defence-Tech Supercycle: STARK, KNDS & Fusion Energy in Europe · Deep Tech Germany – AI, Robotics & Frontier Innovation by Startuprad.io™

• 0:00
  June 2026: The Defence Capital Supercycle
• 0:02
  Joern Menninger (Frankfurt am Main)
• 0:05
  Joe solo. First solo news episode. Full text. Recording-ready.
• 0:08
  Defence technology has become the dominant venture asset class in DACH. In a single month: a 500 million euro drone round for a company founded two years ago, a 270 million euro rocket round for a company that still has not reached orbit, a 500 million euro dedicated defence growth fund, and the largest European defence IPO in history. The capital infrastructure for European defence tech is now complete — from seed to public markets. The question is no longer whether the money will arrive. It is whether the engineering can deliver.
• 0:45
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: 1.7 billion euros of defence capital in a single month. A drone company worth 3.5 billion — founded two years ago. The largest European defence IPO in history. A rocket company that raised 270 million and still cannot reach orbit. And a laser fusion startup from Darmstadt that just closed the largest Series A the global fusion industry has ever seen, turning it into a unicorn. This is the Defence Capital Supercycle — and we are going to break it down.
• 1:19
  INTRO HERE
• 1:21
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: This is Startuprad.io. I am Joe Menninger, joining you from Frankfurt am Main. This is the June 2026 news episode, covering May 19th to June 29th. Production date is today, June 29th. We go live on July 2nd. All news not included will be published in our summer wrap-ups. We expect two episodes to drop September 3rd and September 7th (US Labor Day) as it is our tradition.
• 1:49
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: This is my first solo news episode. For those who have listened for a while, you will notice that I am on my own. Chris Fahrenbach, my co-host and co-founder, has departed from the show. I want to keep this brief: Chris built this show with me from the beginning, and his contribution is in every episode we have ever made. But the show continues, and the signals this month demand our full attention. He stays on as an advisor and our backoffice team also remains unchanged.
• 2:25
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: The signals are extraordinary. In a single month, DACH produced more than 1.7 billion euros of defence-linked capital. 500 million for STARK’s drones. 270 million for Isar’s rockets. 500 million for a new European defence growth fund. And the largest European defence IPO in history — KNDS, at up to 18 billion euros. Beyond defence, Focused Energy raised 240 million dollars for laser fusion in the largest Series A the global fusion industry has ever seen — a new German unicorn from Darmstadt, backed by RWE and the German government. Defence technology is no longer a sector within European venture capital. It is the dominant category. I am calling this the Defence Capital Supercycle.
• 3:12
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: But here is the structural tension. Isar Aerospace raised 270 million euros on June 9th. Six days later, on June 15th, their rocket launch was scrubbed. The money moved faster than the rocket. That is the story of this month. The capital infrastructure for European defence tech is complete. The question is whether the engineering can match.
• 3:36
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: The macro numbers. Germany has deployed 4.04 billion dollars across 188 rounds through June, though Tracxn reports a 20.7 per cent year-on-year decline from 2025 — a reversal from the 11.6 per cent growth we reported through May. (note: There will be always conflicting numbers from different data providers, but notice the trend). The defence budget stands at 82.6 billion euros, projected to reach 152 billion by 2029. Acquisitions have hit 177 through June. And Germany has produced four new unicorns in 2026 already: osapiens, STARK, Focused Energy, and FINN.
• 4:13
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Three predictions on record. One: STARK reaches a 10 billion euro valuation within 18 months. Two: the KNDS IPO prices above 15 billion and triggers at least one more European defence listing within 12 months. Three: Isar Aerospace reaches orbit before December 31st this year. Lets talk startups:
• 4:34
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: STARK. Berlin-based, founded in 2024. On June 23rd, STARK raised 500 million euros in a Series C co-led by Sequoia Capital and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. The NATO Innovation Fund, Doepfner Capital, Project A, and Air Street Capital came alongside. The valuation: above 3.5 billion euros.
• 4:53
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Let me put that in context. STARK is approximately two years old. Two years from founding to a 3.5 billion euro valuation. Total raised since founding: roughly 640 million euros. That is the fastest trajectory in DACH startup history. It tickles memories of quick delivery, but this time macroeconomic and political forces are driving this market making it fast and large due to demand across Europe.
• 5:21
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: The product is the Virtus loitering munition — a strike drone with more than 130 kilometre range and up to 90 minutes of flight, operating in GPS-denied environments. In February 2026, STARK won a 269 million euro Bundeswehr contract to equip the German armoured brigade stationed in Lithuania. More than 80 per cent of the new capital goes to research, development, and manufacturing. The target: thousands of systems per month.
• 5:50
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: This is Sequoia’s first lead investment in a German defence startup. When the largest venture firm in the world leads a German drone company’s round, with Thiel’s fund co-leading, the signal is unambiguous: US growth capital is all-in on European sovereign defence. And the structural point from our previous episodes holds — the Bundeswehr contract came first. The venture capital followed the budget line. The Sovereign Customer Premium we named in May is compounding.
• 6:21
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: On June 22nd, KNDS — the Franco-German tank and ammunition manufacturer — announced it will proceed with an IPO on the Paris and Frankfurt stock exchanges. Estimated valuation: 15 to 18 billion euros. Germany is buying a 40 per cent stake. France retains 40 per cent. About 20 per cent goes to institutional investors.
• 6:44
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: This is the largest European defence IPO in history. KNDS makes Leopard 2 tanks, ammunition used in Ukraine, and military vehicles for NATO allies. The listing is expected within weeks — mid-July is the target.
• 6:59
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Two things matter here - thats why the IPO is in our startup news. First, the dual Paris-Frankfurt listing reinforces the trend we have been tracking: Frankfurt is becoming a default venue for European defence and industrial listings. KNDS chose Frankfurt. Bitpanda chose Frankfurt. The IPO geography continues to shift away from London and NASDAQ.
• 7:22
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Second, Germany buying 40 per cent of KNDS is not just a financial transaction. It is sovereign industrial policy. The German state is taking a direct ownership stake in a core defence manufacturer. This is the government side of the Defence Capital Supercycle — public procurement creates the demand, sovereign ownership secures the supply chain, and public markets provide the exit.
• 7:48
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: On June 18th, Earlybird Venture Capital and French investor AVP announced E2D — a 500 million euro growth fund for European defence and dual-use technology. About 20 companies, 25 million euro average tickets. Space, air, land, maritime. First close: June 30th.
• 8:05
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Here is why E2D matters beyond the headline. It completes what I am calling the European Defence Capital Stack. At the bottom, you have early-stage funds that back defence startups at seed and Series A. In the middle, you now have E2D — a dedicated growth fund for the Series B and C stage. At the top, you have the late-stage mega-rounds: Helsing at 1.2 billion, STARK at 500 million. And now, for the first time, you have a public market exit: KNDS.
• 8:40
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Twelve months ago, this stack did not exist. The complaint from European defence founders was always the same: we can get seed money, but there is no growth capital, and there is no exit. As of this month, all three layers are in place. The capital infrastructure is complete. - Let us press our thumbs like we do in germany that other complete capital stacks develop in the future.
• 9:09
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: And there is a Franco-German signal buried in this. E2D is Earlybird — German — and AVP — French. KNDS is Franco-German. The defence capital supercycle is structurally Franco-German, not just German. This matters for founders. If you are building in defence or dual-use, the capital path now runs through both Paris and Berlin. Two of Europe's largest economies and G7 governments, their combined GDP is almost 8 times that of Switzerland.
• 9:39
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: On June 9th, Isar Aerospace closed a 270 million euro Series D. New investors: Island Green Capital and Molten Ventures. Existing investors: HV Capital, Lakestar, UVC Partners, KfW Capital. And the NATO Innovation Fund — the same fund that appeared in STARK’s round. Total raised: approximately 800 million euros, including a 150 million euro convertible bond from 2025.
• 10:03
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Six days later, on June 15th, the launch was scrubbed. A propulsion anomaly. A second window on June 18th also passed without launch. The mission — Onward and Upward — is now rescheduled to July 31st.
• 10:19
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Let me be direct about this. No rocket has completed an orbital insertion from the European continent. Isar has raised 800 million euros and has not reached orbit. The first flight in March 2025 failed. The March 2026 attempt was scrubbed twice. Now June 2026 — scrubbed twice more. Each time, the funding comes through regardless. The market is pricing sovereign launch capability as strategically essential, independent of near-term mission outcomes.
• 10:48
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: That is the Defence Capital Supercycle in its most concentrated form. The capital thesis is that Europe must have sovereign launch capability. The capital is available. The physics is not cooperating. My prediction: Isar reaches orbit before December 31st this year. If it does not, the conversation shifts from patience to alternatives.
• 11:10
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: One more signal before the lightning round — and it is a big one. On May 27th, Darmstadt-based Focused Energy raised 240 million dollars in a Series A. That is the largest fully secured Series A in the global fusion industry. Focused Energy is now Europe's most valuable fusion company, and a new German unicorn.
• 11:33
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: The company was founded in 2021 as a spin-out of TU Darmstadt's laser and plasma physics group, led by Professor Markus Roth. Focused Energy pursues laser fusion — inertial confinement — which is the only approach where a net energy gain has been scientifically demonstrated, at the National Ignition Facility in California. The investors here tell you everything: RWE, Germany's largest utility, as a strategic partner. SPRIND, the German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation. The European Innovation Council Fund. And Prime Movers Lab from the US as the existing lead.
• 12:11
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: The money goes to Biblis. If that name sounds familiar, it should. Biblis was the site of one of Germany's largest nuclear power plants, decommissioned after Fukushima. RWE owns the site and brings the grid connection, the nuclear licensing expertise, and the physical infrastructure. Focused Energy is building the world's first laser fusion power plant there, targeting mid-2030s.
• 12:35
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Here is why this matters for our thesis. The pattern is identical to what we see in defence. SPRIND is sovereign capital — the government betting on a moonshot. RWE is the institutional anchor — the industrial partner with infrastructure. The EIC Fund is European strategic capital. The structure is the same as STARK: sovereign customer, sovereign capital, deep tech execution. The difference is the domain. In defence it is drones and satellites. In energy it is fusion. But the capital logic is the same. The sovereign capital pattern is not limited to defence. It extends to every domain where Europe has decided it needs strategic autonomy.
• 13:19
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Orbem. Munich. 55.5 million euro Series B. AI-powered MRI technology for the food industry, with healthcare expansion planned. Led by Innovation Industries and Supernova Invest, with General Catalyst following on. A TUM spin-out. Munich’s deeptech pipeline keeps producing.
• 13:35
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Prem AI. Switzerland. Raising 100 million dollars in a Series A at a 500 million dollar valuation. The company helps hedge funds, law firms, and enterprises run AI models on private infrastructure. This is the AI sovereignty thesis applied to enterprise — keep the models on your own servers, not on US cloud.
• 13:58
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: VARM. Berlin. 17.5 million euros. Trains and deploys insulation specialists for building decarbonisation. Climate tech meets workforce development — capital paired with physical trades capacity.
• 14:09
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Blacklane. Berlin. Uber confirmed the acquisition, announced March 30th. Last valued at 547 million dollars. Premium chauffeur in 500-plus cities. Regulatory approval pending, expected to close by year end.
• 14:22
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: FINN. Munich. 140 million euro Series D, led by Portage. Valuation above one billion euros — unicorn status. We interviewed the FINN team before this round closed — the episode is on Startuprad.io. FINN is Germany’s leading car subscription platform, with more than 50,000 active subscriptions and over 300 million euros in annualised revenue. That makes FINN Germany’s fourth new unicorn of 2026, after osapiens, STARK, and Focused Energy. Four new unicorns in six months. When was the last time that happened?
• 14:56
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: osapiens in Mannheim — 100 million dollar Series C from Decarbonization Partners, the BlackRock and Temasek joint venture. Germany’s first unicorn of 2026, now valued above one billion dollars. Enterprise compliance and sustainability software. No surprise here, Mannheim has more centers for entrepreneurship and startup founders than almost all of the state of Hessia. We have been there in the past and seen almost all 9 of them (at the time).
• 15:25
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Three quick regulatory and people signals from the weekend. N26, Berlin’s largest neobank, reported its first-ever profit — a milestone. Binance is shutting down cryptocurrency trading across the entire European Economic Area under MiCA enforcement. That clears the field for MiCA-compliant operators like Bitpanda. And Judith Dada, General Partner at Visionaries Club and a leading voice on European AI sovereignty, has become CEO of Langdock, a Berlin-based enterprise AI company. A venture GP moving into an operating CEO role — that is conviction.
• 16:00
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: If I were a founder right now, I would look at the European Defence Capital Stack and ask where my company fits. The infrastructure exists end-to-end: early-stage funds at the bottom, E2D for growth, Helsing and STARK proving the late-stage model, KNDS opening the public market exit. If your technology has a defence or dual-use application, the capital path is clearer than it has ever been. But the Isar lesson also applies. Raising the money is the easy part. Engineering execution is the binding constraint. Do not confuse a funded round with a delivered product.
• 16:39
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: If I were an investor, I would watch the capital concentration pattern. Total funding in Germany is down 20 per cent year-on-year, but the individual rounds are historic — STARK at 500 million, Isar at 270 million, E2D at 500 million. The money is flowing into fewer companies at larger scale. If you are not in defence, space, industrial AI, or regulated infrastructure, the funding environment is tighter than the headlines suggest. The structural rotation we identified in April is not a trend. It is the new baseline.
• 17:15
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Three things to watch. First: Isar Aerospace’s launch window opens July 31st. Orbit validates the decade of European commercial launch investment. Another scrub raises existential questions. Second: KNDS IPO pricing, expected mid-July. The range is 15 to 18 billion. Where it prices tells you how public market investors calibrate European defence risk. Third: Bitpanda’s IPO timeline. The MiCA deadline of June 30th has effectively passed. Whether Bitpanda files in Q3 determines whether Frankfurt’s tech listing ambitions are a trend or an aspiration.
• 17:49
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Let me close with the big picture. Three predictions on record. One: STARK reaches 10 billion within 18 months. Two: KNDS prices above 15 billion and triggers at least one more European defence listing within a year. Three: Isar reaches orbit before December 31st.
• 18:08
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: In March, we said procurement is the new product-market fit. In April, we said DACH capital had rotated from software to physical infrastructure. In May, we named the Sovereign Customer Premium. This month, all three theses converge. The capital infrastructure for European defence technology is complete. Seed to growth to public markets. The European Defence Capital Stack exists. And the question has shifted from whether the money will arrive to whether the engineering can deliver.
• 18:39
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: For the schedule: the next news episode covers late June through late July and August. We are on biweekly publication for July and August. In September, we return with a summer wrap-up, H1 2026 review to be published soon.
• 18:56
  Jörn "Joe" Menninger: The money arrived. Now build the thing.