Security and Defence perspectives for Luxembourg investors

Organized by Luxinnovation in collaboration with the Luxembourg Directorate of Defence and with the support of the Luxembourg Private Equity Association, this event targets Luxembourg venture capitalists and incubators with the objective of raising their awareness of defence programmes and initiatives (national, EU, NATO) that support the scale-up of deeptech start-ups in defence.

During the first part of the event, the Luxembourg Directorate of Defence, the European Commission, the European Defence Agency, the European Investment Fund and NATO will provide an overview on their approaches towards supporting the security and defence industry. 

The second part of the event will consist of a panel featuring Luxembourg and EU investment funds that have already invested in “security and defence” companies or have already created a dedicated “security and defence” fund. 

The third part of the event, will be dedicated to testimonials from Luxembourg start-ups that have raised VC capital for their security and defence activities.

The event serves as a precursor to the EU Defence Investors Day, which will take place in Brussels on 3 April 2025 during the EDF Info Days (2-3 April).

EventAgenda:

13:45 – 14:00 Registration

14:00 – 14:05 Opening Luxinnovation – LPEA

14:05 – 15:00 Key notes & presentations | National, EU and NATO approaches toward supporting the Defence Technology and Industrial Base (online or physical)
14h05 | Supporting the Luxembourg Industry and Research, Hélène Massard, Deputy Director – Luxembourg Directorate of Defence
14h15 | Fostering a thriving defence industrial ecosystem (EDF, EDIP, ASAP, EDIRPA, EDIP), Volker Bäcker, Policy Officer at the European Commission
14h25 | Supporting the European Defence Technology Industrial Base, Federica Valente, Hub for European Defence Innovation – European Defence Agency (online) 14h35 | EIF support for defence and dual use, Nicolas Poussin de la Vallée, European Investment Fund (EIF)
14h45 | NATO Innovation Fund: achievements and perspectives, Ari Jonsson, Nato Innovation Fund (NIF)

15:00 – 15:45 Panel discussion VC | Experience from EU Defence and Security TECH funds
• Karista (FR), Yvan Ehkirch
• Alpine Ventures (DE), Lynn Zoenen
• Expansion Ventures (LU/FR), Sandra Budimir
• Orbital Ventures (LU), Jeremy Teboul Moderated by Quentin Dupraz, Ilavska Vuillermoz Capital (LU, LPEA member)

15:45 – 16:30
Panel discussion or presentations | testimonials from industry LU
• Tadaweb, Genna Elvin – Cofounder and CTO
• LMO, Michel Poucet – CEO
• Uplift360, Sam Staincliff – Cofounder and CTO
• Passbolt, Rémy Bertot – Founder and CTO Moderated by Luxinnovation

16:30 – 17:00 Networking & coffee