European Investment Fund commits €50m to Join Capital Fund III for Deeptech and Dual-Use.

The European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the EIB Group, today announces at the EIB Group Forum in Luxembourg a €50 million commitment to Join Capital’s third fund as Europe moves from defence spending announcements to rebuilding industrial capability.

The commitment is the EIF’s largest to date in defence and is supported by the InvestEU Defence Equity Facility, which is designed to strengthen Europe’s defence technological and industrial base by backing venture capital funds.

Join Capital’s Fund III, targeting €235 million, will invest in 25 early-stage deeptech startups across Europe developing technologies with critical capabilities in defence, dual-use, security and space.

"With this backing, we are confident that additional investments will follow, helping Europe in building a robust ecosystem for innovative defence solutions.”

“Innovation and disruptive technologies are crucial for EU’s defence readiness. By investing in specialist defence venture capital funds, like Join Capital, the Commission and the EIF are strengthening the financial ecosystem that nurtures and supports our defence innovators, startups and SMEs to grow and scale up in Europe,” said Commissioner Andrius Kubilius.

Join Capital has backed early-stage defence and deeptech innovators across Europe including Optics11 (Netherlands), Quadsat (Denmark), Kreios Space (Spain), Quantum Optics Jena (Germany) and 2D Photonics (Italy). These companies span fibre-optic sensing for critical infrastructure, quantum-secure communications, advanced electronic payloads, and cybersecurity.

“We back founders whose technologies create an asymmetric advantage for their customers in the military and commercial industry. Investments in such dual-use technologies have a doubling effect; they create both deterrence and economic growth for Europe,” said Jan Borgstädt, a Founding Partner at Berlin-based Join Capital.

Throughout history, defence research and development has not only enhanced security but reshaped civilian life. Technologies born in military programmes—from satellite navigation and radar systems to semiconductors and the internet—now underpin global logistics, communications and productivity.

Join Capital Fund III is focused on ensuring the next generation of critical technologies is developed, scaled and anchored in Europe.

The InvestEU Defence Equity Facility (DEF) is a €175 million initiative, co-financed by the European Defence Fund (EDF)—a €7.3 billion EU programme dedicated to defence research and development—and the European Investment Fund. This instrument, designed to stimulate the development of an ecosystem of European private funds focused on defence innovation, is expected to unlock over €500 million in support of European companies.

The Defence Equity Facility is a key component of the EU Defence Innovation Scheme (EUDIS), which leverages EDF resources to provide targeted support for start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs. EUDIS offers a range of initiatives, including business accelerators, matchmaking events, hackathons, challenges, and grants for disruptive technologies.

The Defence Equity Facility is deployed under the InvestEU programme, which provides the European Union with long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of European Union’s strategic priorities. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub, and the InvestEU Portal.

The InvestEU Fund is deployed through implementing partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.

Read the full press release below.