Eight of the 13 German defense-tech startups on our map are headquartered in the Munich area. Together they account for about €4.4bn of the roughly €5.2bn raised across the map. Berlin’s STARK and a handful of industrial cities hold the rest.
- Munich is the default HQ: 8 of 13 startups sit in Munich, Gilching or Wessling. Their announced rounds add up to about €4.4bn of ~€5.2bn (about 85%, our calculation).
- Two names carry most of it: Helsing (~$3.3bn total, Series E $1.8bn in Jul 2026) and Quantum Systems (~$1.6bn, Series D $1.2bn in Jul 2026).
- Outside Munich: STARK in Berlin (€660m+, Series C €500m in Jun 2026), HyImpulse in Neuenstadt a.K. (~€95m), INLEAP in Hanover (~€20m), plus Swarm Biotactics (Kassel) and Ground A (Düsseldorf).
- Not one vertical: strike drones, recon, loitering munitions, interceptors, ground robots, hypersonics, command-and-control software and laser counter-drone all appear on the list.
Eight of 13, and most of the money
Pin every startup to its headquarters and one cluster stands out. Helsing ($3.3bn), Quantum Systems ($1.6bn), TYTAN (€46m), ARX Robotics (€42m), Hypersonica (~$26m), Project Q (~€22.5m), Twentyfour Industries ($11.8m) and Alpine Eagle (€10.25m) all sit in or just outside Munich. On the announced-round totals in our database that is about €4.4bn of ~€5.2bn raised across the 13.
The cluster is dominated by two companies. Helsing and Quantum Systems each closed a mega-round in July 2026 (Series E $1.8bn and Series D $1.2bn). Strip those out and the rest of the Munich group is a long tail of totals between about €10m and €46m.
Who raised the most
13 German defense-tech startups, by total announced funding
| # | Startup | HQ | Total raised | Latest round | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helsing | Munich | $3.3bn | Series E $1.8bn · Jul 2026 | Defence AI, HX-2 strike drone |
| 2 | Quantum Systems | Gilching (Munich area) | $1.6bn | Series D $1.2bn · Jul 2026 | Recon drones |
| 3 | STARK | Berlin | €660m+ | Series C €500m · Jun 2026 | Loitering munitions |
| 4 | HyImpulse | Neuenstadt a.K. | ~€95m | Series A ext. €50m+ · Sep 2026 | Rockets, hypersonic testing |
| 5 | TYTAN Technologies | Munich | €46m | Series A €30m · Feb 2026 | Interceptor drones |
| 6 | ARX Robotics | Munich | €42m | Series A ext. €11m · Jul 2025 | Ground robots |
| 7 | Hypersonica | Wessling (Munich area) | ~$26m | Series A €23m · Feb 2026 | Hypersonic strike |
| 8 | Project Q | Munich | ~€22.5m | Series A €15m · Jul 2026 | Command & control software |
| 9 | INLEAP Photonics | Hanover | ~€20m | Seed ~€20m · Sep 2026 | Laser counter-drone |
| 10 | Twentyfour Industries | Munich | $11.8m | Round $11.8m · Jan 2026 | Mass-produced drones |
| 11 | Alpine Eagle | Munich | €10.25m | Seed €10.25m · Mar 2025 | Airborne counter-drone |
| 12 | Swarm Biotactics | Kassel | ~€10m | Seed €10m · Jun 2025 | Bio-robotic swarms |
| 13 | Ground A | Düsseldorf | ~€9.1m | Pre-seed ~€9.1m · Sep 2026 | Laser counter-drone |
Berlin, plus a few industrial cities
STARK in Berlin is the one non-Munich name above €100m: €660m+ total, led by a €500m Series C in June 2026, building loitering munitions. HyImpulse (Neuenstadt a.K., rockets and hypersonic testing) is at about €95m after a Series A extension of €50m+ in September 2026. INLEAP Photonics in Hanover (~€20m seed) and Ground A in Düsseldorf (~€9.1m pre-seed) are both working on laser counter-drone systems. Swarm Biotactics in Kassel (~€10m seed) works on bio-robotic swarms.
The product mix is broad. The map shows strike drones, recon, loitering munitions, interceptors, ground robots, hypersonics, command-and-control software and laser counter-drone, not a single-use vertical.
Capital and HQs both cluster
Our reading: German defense tech is not evenly national. Capital and headquarters density both concentrate around Munich, while Berlin and a few industrial cities hold the rest. That is a description of announced funding in this set of 13, not a forecast.
Sources
- behindrobotics.com database and research, funding rounds and headquarters, October 2026. Database company profiles: Helsing, Quantum Systems, STARK, TYTAN Technologies, Hypersonica, Project Q, Twentyfour Industries.
- Full company database: behindrobotics.com/companies. Profile totals can differ slightly from the figures here because of rounding and currency conversion; this article uses the sums shown in the chart.
- HyImpulse, ARX Robotics, INLEAP Photonics, Alpine Eagle, Swarm Biotactics and Ground A: figures from the same behindrobotics.com research; no published database profile yet.
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