The second edition of Tough Tech by the Tough Ten has just been released, revealing that Europe’s Eastern Flank spends a larger share of its GDP on defence than the United States and the NATO average, with strong investment in space and counter-drone technologies.
The report, bringing together analysis from Dealroom.co, Resilience Media, seven venture capital firms, and law firm TEGOS Legal, maps the companies, capital and partners driving tough tech – a term encompassing defence, security and resilience innovations that address NATO’s priority capability needs.
The Tough Tech by the Tough Ten 2026 report tracks 170 VC-backed startups across 10 countries, with a combined enterprise value of $21.8 billion.
The report was initiated by Coinvest Capital, together with BSV Ventures, Balnord, DEPO Ventures, the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) and Sparkmind Capital, in partnership with TEGOS, Dealroom.co, ILTE Lietuva and Resilience Media.
- Read the full report HERE
