Govtech and defence investors
Govtech and defence investors back companies that sell to governments, public services and militaries, and companies whose technology has both civil and defence use. The buyers are large, slow and durable, and the procurement rules are the product's first obstacle.
The firms on this list name government, public sector or defence as a focus on their own website. Several are specialist funds formed in the last few years as the sector opened to venture. Each cites its own site as the source for what is written here.
Franklin Resources is a global investment management organization known as Franklin Templeton Investments. They have an extensive global presence, including offices in 35 countries…
Upfront Ventures is proud to be an early investor and long-term partner to the most exciting founders and startups. Founded in 1996 in Los Angeles with investing professionals based…
Founded in 2022, Booz Allen Ventures LLC is the corporate venture arm of McLean, VA-based Booz Allen Hamilton. Booz Allen Ventures strategically invests in early-stage companies…
Cedar Pine is a private investment firm specializing in strategic, long-term assets. Headquartered near Chicago, its team seeks to create value by applying and building on decades of…
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Coformaco is the family office of Belgian entrepreneur Conny Vandendriessche. It is being set up by Conny together with her son Mathijs, her husband Wim, and their team, with further…
DenizBank is a privately owned commercial bank operating in Turkey, headquartered in Istanbul. It provides a range of retail and commercial banking products and services including…
FedTech started in 2013 as a part of the DC I-Corps program. Since then Fed Tech has developed a process where innovations in federal labs are matched with entrepreneurs who conduct…
GrowthX is an organization focused on helping and investing in B2B founders in rising cities. Its platform emphasizes support for startup revenue acceleration and partnerships with…
GSBackers opertres has a investment firm.
i2E is a private not-for-profit Oklahoma corporation that invests in technology-based entrepreneurs and companies. 2E receives state support from the Oklahoma Center for the…
Kjeller Innovation has established start-up incubators at Kjeller and Ås. They support entrepreneurs in the early stages of company development, and are active drivers on the road…
Look Up Ventures is an investment firm focused on pragmatic and systemic solutions to the climate emergency and biodiversity loss. The team consists of founders, operators, and…
Lupa Systems is a private investment holding company founded by James Murdoch. It invests across multiple asset classes, including venture capital, private equity, and public…
Motorola Ventures helps turn great new ideas into thriving businesses. They are not a lab, but like one, they are about discovery. They focus on opportunities that complement…
Nobska Home Ventures is an organization focused on home investment advisory services. Its website positions it as a resource for planning home construction projects, emphasizing the…
OneSixOne Ventures is a pre-seed venture capital firm that specializes in enterprise software and government technology startups in Southeast US.
Paradigm Equity Partners is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm. It focuses on corporate divestitures and other special situations transactions.
PUBLIC is an organisation focused on creating outstanding digital public services. It provides expertise across areas such as commercial spend and impact, security and online safety…
Région Occitanie is the local government authority for the Occitanie region in southern France. Beyond traditional public administration, it acts as a major institutional investor to…
Sidebench is a technology firm focused on product and technology strategy, UX design, and software development for respected brands, innovative businesses, and highly regulated…
SmartCap is a government held fund of funds seeking to invest in private fund management teams. SmartCap manages early stage venture capital fund Early Fund II. Total assets under…
What govtech and defence investors look for
A route through procurement.
Which contract vehicles, which agencies, which programmes. Investors in this sector know the rules in their markets and expect founders to know them better.
Dual use, where it applies.
Technology that sells to commercial customers as well as government carries less concentration risk and often reaches revenue sooner. Investors look for the second market.
Mission credibility.
Founders and advisers who have served in or sold to the institutions they are targeting. The buyers are careful about who they work with, and investors reflect that.
Compliance as capability.
Security clearances, certifications and the ability to handle sensitive data are prerequisites, and having them is a moat. Investors ask what the company holds and what it is pursuing.
Patience with the sale, and a plan for it.
Government sales take years. Investors want to see a pipeline with programmes and stages, pilots that convert, and enough runway to survive the cycle.
Raising in govtech and defence
The investor set for this sector is smaller than for most and more specialised. Some generalist funds will not invest in defence at all, and founders should filter for the ones whose sites say they do, which is what this page is for.
Have ready: the procurement strategy by market, the pilots and contracts in place with their stages, the compliance and clearance position, the commercial market where one exists, and the export and regulatory constraints on selling abroad.
Government grants, innovation programmes and small business contract vehicles fund a large share of early companies in this sector. Investors expect founders to use them and will ask which have been won.
Questions
What is govtech?
Technology sold to governments and public services: software for agencies, cities and public bodies, and the infrastructure they run on. It overlaps with defence where the buyer is a military or security institution.
Do venture investors fund defence companies?
A growing number do, and several funds now specialise in it. Others exclude it by policy. The firms on this list name the sector on their own sites, so a founder can see which is which.
What does dual use mean?
Technology with both civil and military applications. Investors like it because the commercial market can fund the company while government sales mature.
How long does a government sale take?
Often years, through pilots, procurement and budget cycles. Investors in the sector expect it and size rounds so companies can survive it.
Can a company sell to governments outside its home market?
Often, with export controls and local procurement rules to manage. Investors will ask about the constraints in each target market before crediting revenue from it.
Govtech and defence investors by city
Govtech and defence investors by stage