HENSOLDT and TUM Venture Labs sign strategic cooperation agreement

The TUM Venture Labs are innovation centres that promote technology-based spin-offs. They support prospective entrepreneurs in putting promising research results and ideas into practice and provide an ecosystem with the necessary development environment. There are a total of twelve Venture Labs, each with its own thematic focus. With this cooperation, the TUM Venture Lab "Aerospace & Defense" will pool all defence-related projects and advance the planned establishment of a European Defence Tech Hub.

With this partnership, HENSOLDT is further strengthening its commitment to building bridges between science and industry. As an industrial partner, HENSOLDT will provide the founders and entrepreneurs supported by the Venture Labs with valuable insights into industry requirements and processes. Regular exchange in committees and working groups will open up new perspectives for both partners, create synergies and pave the way for future joint projects and investments in start-ups.

The defence industry is undergoing a profound transformation due to new security policy realities and changing military requirements. The cooperation with TUM Venture Labs is a further step for HENSOLDT to expand its innovative strength in new, fast-growing areas such as software-defined defence.

At the same time, the cooperation between HENSOLDT, one of the leading companies in the European defence electronics market, and TUM Venture Labs is a strong signal for Munich as a technology hotspot. It is characterised by an excellent ecosystem for tech start-ups and is increasingly becoming a central hub for Europe's technological progress and sovereignty in the defence sector. HENSOLDT will provide significant support for TUM's ambition to create a European Defence Tech Hub.

“Our innovative strength does not come from our own efforts alone. By integrating ourselves into a powerful network of research institutions and initiatives, we enable a dialogue about exciting future technologies and innovative ideas. At the same time, we are networking with a large number of founders with whom we will explore potential for future cooperation – including increased investment in their start-ups,” says Christian Schmidt, Chief Strategy Officer of HENSOLDT.

“As a leading European deep tech entrepreneurship hub, the TUM Venture Labs with our Munich partners are crucial for defence-related innovations in space, autonomous systems and software & AI,” explains Dr. Philipp Gerbert, CEO of TUM Venture Labs.

“In view of current geopolitical developments, we need to increasingly educate our start-ups on what it means to serve security and defence markets with their products,” adds Dr Florian Dötzer, who heads the security activities at TUM Venture Labs. “As a new partner, HENSOLDT is an invaluable asset at our side for this.”