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Fastest-growing startups

September 29, 2025

Europe’s fastest-growing defence startup teams in 2025

Defence startups, fueled by VC hype and money, are rapidly growing their headcounts

Anne Sraders

4 min read

VCs have funnelled hundreds of millions of euros into European defence startups in the last year. That money is going, in part, to growing teams; some startups like German weaponised drones maker Stark have seen headcount grow an astronomical 3,900% since 2024.

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Anne Sraders

Anne Sraders is a senior reporter at Sifted, based in Berlin. She covers the VC industry and deeptech startups. She also writes Sifted's weekly VC newsletter Up Round. Follow her on X and LinkedIn

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