DTCP launches €500m Project Liberty to accelerate Europe's defence technology innovation

DTCP has launched “Project Liberty,” a new €500 million venture fund dedicated to defence, security and resilience technologies, the firm said, marking its eighth fund and the first it has focused exclusively on the sector. According to DTCP, the independently managed vehicle will target institutional investors, family offices and corporate investors and pursue Series A to Series C investments in high‑performing European defence and dual‑use technology companies.

The fund will prioritise Europe while retaining flexibility to back firms from NATO member states and close allies when their technologies are “strategically relevant to European security, interoperability and critical supply chains,” the company said. DTCP framed Project Liberty as a response to rising Western defence modernisation budgets and a “profound technological transformation” reshaping military and security value chains.

DTCP said Project Liberty will take a NATO‑aligned approach, focussing on software solutions, cyber defence, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, alongside enabling capabilities such as surveillance and sensing, software‑defined systems, advanced materials, autonomous platforms, and satellite and communications infrastructure. The vehicle expects to make up to 30 investments with an average check size of approximately €20 million.

The firm emphasised continuity with its existing technology and infrastructure remit, pointing to a decade of investments in IT and security technologies and an existing portfolio that includes cybersecurity and dual‑use holdings. “Project Liberty represents a highly consistent extension of our role as a specialist investment platform. Defense and resilience have been converging with technology and infrastructure investing for more than a decade, precisely where DTCP, through DTCP Growth and DTCP Infra, has deep expertise and numerous touchpoints with the defense industry. There are few areas that fit more naturally with our existing platforms,” Vicente Vento, CEO of DTCP, said in the announcement.

Thomas Preuß, Managing Partner, DTCP and Chief Investment Officer of Project Liberty, set out the fund’s dual rationale: “We named the fund Project Liberty because it is about more than capital alone. Technological capability is a core prerequisite for Europe’s sovereignty, security, and democratic stability. Our objective is to support the development of a strong European security architecture through targeted investments in scalable, high‑performance technologies.” He added: “At the same time, Project Liberty follows a clear, return-driven investment approach. We combine capital with deep operational expertise, an international network, and long‑standing experience working with industrial partners and public‑sector stakeholders. In this sector, access, governance, and the ability to scale are critical, and this is where we believe DTCP brings distinct value as a long‑term, active investor.”

DTCP said it manages roughly €3 billion across technology and infrastructure strategies, has completed more than 50 investments worldwide and recorded over 19 exits. The firm operates offices in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Berlin, Luxembourg, London, San Francisco and Tel Aviv.

Outside coverage has underlined the scale and market positioning of Project Liberty. According to a report by Resilience Media, the fund represents one of the largest privately backed investment initiatives in European defence technology. GlobalVenturing and other outlets noted that DTCP has strong corporate ties, reporting that the platform is backed by Deutsche Telekom, an association DTCP itself references through its background in telecoms‑adjacent infrastructure and technology investing.

Industry observers say the timing and structure of the fund reflect broader shifts in European defence financing and supply‑chain priorities. Government figures and policy announcements across Western capitals in recent years have signalled sustained increases in defence budgets and a push to onshore or secure critical technologies. DTCP positions Project Liberty to capitalise on these structural trends while offering private‑market capital and scaling support to firms working on interoperability and resilience.

DTCP has described Project Liberty as a long‑term, return‑driven vehicle intended to combine capital, operational support and access to industrial and public‑sector partners. The firm said the fund will seek companies that complement or advance existing defence and security systems through novel technological approaches and that scalability, governance and access to customers will be central to its investment selection.

As private capital flows into defence and dual‑use technologies grow, DTCP’s launch adds a high‑profile example of Europe‑based venture capital explicitly tied to security objectives. Whether Project Liberty will materially change the competitive landscape for defence tech investment will depend on its ability to convert commitments into active partnerships, navigate export and governance constraints around sensitive technologies, and help portfolio companies scale into defence procurement ecosystems dominated by long procurement cycles and established prime contractors. The firm has signalled it intends to deploy the €500 million with an eye to those commercial and strategic challenges.