European Investors Launch the First Pan-European Network ofBusiness Angels Dedicated to DefenceTech and Strategic Innovation

Paris, the 29th of October — Bpifrance, the French Public Investment Bank, has

launched its first edition of the European Defence Week in Paris. This event marks

a milestone for Europe’s strategic startups, with the announcement of Defence Angels

European Network - DAEN - the first pan-European network of Business Angels

dedicated to DefenceTech and strategic innovation.

For the first time, private investors from across the continent are joining forces to

support Europe’s most promising start-ups in defence, dual-use, and critical

technologies — from advanced materials to drones, space, cybersecurity, and

quantum.

The DAEN initiative is inspired by the French Défense Angels network, the first

Business Angels structure in Europe dedicated to financing strategic startups.

This initiative is supported by the two European federations of Business Angels,

Business Angels Europe and the European Business Angel Network, as well as two

national federations, France Angels and Italian Business Angels Association,

alongside numerous Business Angels networks from across the EU Member

States. It aims to close the early-stage funding gap for start-ups developing

technologies essential to Europe’s security, resilience, and competitiveness.

This creation of the network has also involved many institutional partners, including

Bpifrance, notably through its international matchmaking platform EuroQuity,

the French Ministry of Defence as well as several other European actors,

underlining the growing recognition that Europe’s strategic autonomy depends on its

ability to finance its own defence innovation. The initiative was welcomed by

European institutions, such as the European Commission and the European

Investment Bank.

Built as an open and collaborative platform, the network will foster cross-border coinvestment,

share expertise among Angel investors, and connect DefenceTech

entrepreneurs with industrial, financial and institutional partners. It will also act as a

bridge between public instruments — such as the European Defence Fund, the

Defence Equity Facility or the European Innovation Council — and Europe’s private

investment community.

With this new initiative, Europe takes a decisive step toward building a stronger,

more connected innovation ecosystem capable of sustaining its own strategic

needs.

“In his report on "the Future of European competitiveness," Mario Draghi underlines:

"Europe must refocus its collective efforts on reducing the innovation gap with the

United States and China, especially regarding advanced technologies." This is the aim

of the Defence Angels European Network’s creation. DAEN’s structure is inspired by

the proven and agile models of Business Angel networks focusing on specific sectors.

It leverages the success of the first and only BA network specialized in Defence and

Security in France, to roll it out across Europe, with the aim of redirecting private

savings from European countries to early-stage Strategic European Startups. Our

conviction is that DAEN’s success can only be collective, depending on the active

support and actions from all European stakeholders.” – Guy Gourevitch, President of Défense Angels.

“At Bpifrance, we are multiplying initiatives to strengthen Europe’s defence and

technological sovereignty, from the € 450 million Bpifrance Defence Fund open to

individual investors, to supporting networks like DAEN that bring together experienced

business angels around dual-use innovation. Thanks to our matchmaking platform

EuroQuity, these investors will be able to connect with all the strategic partners of the

European Defense Alliance community, helping to accelerate the rise of European

champions that will secure our sovereignty.” - Pascal Lagarde, Executive Director, Strategy, Development, International Affairs and ESG of Bpifrance.

“Europe needs bold investors who understand the strategic importance of defence

innovation in securing our societal wealth, and within that framework, business angels

are uniquely positioned to support this sector – not just with capital, but with vision and

networks. BAE is proud to support and take an active role in Defence Angels European

Network and help build a resilient, cross-border investment ecosystem. We will use our strong presence in the most mature and relevant angel markets (UK, D, F, I, NL, B, P, A,..)  and CEE-region to the benefit of this endeavour” - Reginald Vossen, President of Business Angels Europe.

“EBAN has a long tradition of investing in Space and most recently in Space &

Defence. Already, when we started EBAN Space in 2016 we were investing in Dual

Mission ventures. In particular, EBAN’s very large representation from the Eastern

European countries gives us a large pool of both entrepreneurs and investors to draw

on for Defence Angels European Network. We are also most pleased to include

representatives from ESA and EUSPA as well as a large number of European Space

& Defence VC’s, such as Expansion, Seraphim, Primo Space, Triangle Ventures,

NOVA Space, DEPO Ventures, along with Défense Angels, LitBAN, LBAN, FiBAN,

Access Space, BSV Ventures, etc. within our EBAN Space & Defense Executive

Committee.” - Ted Elvhage, Chairman of EBAN Space & Defense.

“We are proud to be contributing to the security of Europe with the Defence Angels

European Network.” - Candace Johnson, EBAN President Emeritus and EBAN Space & Defense Executive Committee Member.

“France Angels has built a matrix organization to support ‘agnostic’ territorial Business

Angels Networks and Early-Stage Investors with Sectorial Networks such as Defence

or Healthcare. We are really proud to announce this important milestone for Défense

Angels to expand in Europe. We remain committed to extend it to other Sectorial

Networks.” - Alain Pujol, France Angels Co-President.

“As representatives of Italian Business Angels, and as actors of the Franco-Italian

cooperation on innovation support and investment, we are delighted to support the

creation of this new pan-European network.” – Paolo Anselmo, President of IBAN.

“The launch of the Defence Angels European Network is an important milestone for

EU’s security. This initiative is in line with the Commission’s effort to build a

stronger defence innovation ecosystem through EU cooperation and support the full

investment journey of start-ups and scale-ups developing innovative defence

solutions.” – Guillaume de la Brosse, Head of Unit for Defence policy & innovation, European Commission (DG DEFIS).

“Cross-border investments” and “pan-European” are two key words in our current

reality, that align with the values and objectives of the EIB Group: autonomy,

leadership, preparedness and strategic investments. It is encouraging to see that all

layers of the economic ecosystem are now moving in this same direction, and it should

give us hope that we can support each other in the process. We need to think about

interoperability, efficiency and benefiting from each other’s strengths. With this in mind,

the EIB is supporting and encouraging this new initiative. We look forward to financing

companies that will have been nurtured by the European Defence Angels Network.” – Andra Migiu, Head of Division, Security and Defence Office, European Investment Bank.

“The European Innovation Council has always relied on business angels and their

networks to identify and support deep tech startups in Europe. We are looking forward

to working with the DAEN in order to support the fast-emerging ecosystem in dual use

technologies in Europe.” - Stéphane Ouaki, EIC head of Department and EISMEA acting Director.

About the Initiative

Defence Angels European Network is an independent, non-profit initiative bringing

together private investors, entrepreneurs, and innovation leaders across the European

Union. Supported by the main European Business Angels federations and many

national networks, it aims to accelerate investment in early-stage DefenceTech and

strategic start-ups through pan-European coordination, co-investment, and shared

expertise.