Where capital meets deftech
Exhibitions, pitch competitions, hackathons and investment circles where founders and investors actually meet — Ukraine, the Nordics, the Baltics, Germany, Poland, Benelux, Italy and Spain.
Upcoming
Kielce, Poland · Targi Kielce
Central & Eastern Europe's largest defence exhibition. Its dedicated defence-innovation / startup arena brings emerging defense-tech startups face-to-face with Polish and regional primes, procurement and investors.
Event siteLviv, Ukraine · Brave1 / Ministry of Defence of Ukraine
Ukraine's national defense-tech summit, built around Brave1's Battle Proven pitch competition: defense-tech startups pitch battle-proven systems directly to international investors and government buyers. Defense and startup capital, in one room.
Event siteLviv, Ukraine · IT Arena
Ukraine's premier tech event (7,500+ attendees) with a flagship startup competition and a strong miltech/defense track — where Ukrainian defense-tech founders meet international VCs and partners in one place.
Event siteMunich, Germany · Cyber Innovation Hub der Bundeswehr (CIHBw)
The Bundeswehr's Cyber Innovation Hub puts selected defense and dual-use startups on stage in front of military decision-makers and investors — a direct pitch channel into German defense procurement and capital.
Event siteHelsinki, Finland · Slush / Invest in Estonia
Europe's flagship startup event runs a dedicated DefenceTech programme: Nordic and Baltic defense-tech startups pitch directly to defense-focused VCs and investors. Explicitly where deftech founders and capital meet.
Event siteRotterdam, Netherlands · NIDV
The Netherlands' national defense & security exhibition (37th edition, Ahoy Rotterdam): one compact day of matchmaking between Dutch/NATO procurement, primes and suppliers — the entry point into the Dutch defense market.
Event siteMadrid, Spain · FEINDEF Foundation
Spain's international defense & security exhibition (IFEMA Madrid), backed by the Spanish MoD, with an innovation lab for emerging technology — Spain's main stage for defense-tech startups seeking primes and public capital.
Event siteVilnius, Lithuania · Baltic Miltech
The Baltics' military-technology summit with expo and live-firing show; the 2027 edition adds a dedicated defence-tech track — a regional meeting point for miltech startups, armed forces and investors.
Event siteLa Spezia, Italy · Italian Blue Growth
Italy's naval & maritime defense-tech exhibition inside the La Spezia Naval Base, with a dedicated start-up area and innovation hub — where naval primes, navies and investors scout maritime dual-use startups.
Event siteBerlin, Germany
Tallinn, Estonia
Warsaw, Poland
Know an event we should list? Tell us — we curate for capital + deftech relevance.
Who's behind this
Defense Valley News is run by Defense Valley, a defense-innovation consultancy working with startups, investors and governments across Europe. We built this map because we needed it ourselves.
If your work touches European defense tech — talk to us
