Good morning {{first_name}},
A reported clash between the U.S. Pentagon and AI company Anthropic shows how high the stakes around powerful AI have become. A nearly $200 million defence contract is on the line over ethical limits, including demands for human oversight in military AI systems.
This friction reflects the growing tension between national security needs and AI safety commitments.
It is precisely the moment Dario Amodei, CEO and cofounder of Anthropic, describes in The Adolescence of Technology. As AI grows rapidly more powerful, risks around misuse, autonomy, and governance are rising just as fast. His message is clear: managing this transition will require both responsible companies and smart policy. We put together five key takeaways of his essay for you.
Also in this issue:
Europe’s counter-drone startups: five early-stage companies shaping the future of autonomous defence, and facing risk head-on.
In this week’s The Leap: Martin outlines a bold OKR framework for European heads of state to bridge the continent’s execution gap.
Enjoy the read.
THE LEAP | BY MARTIN SCHILLING
Europe’s Next Renaissance Needs Radical Ambition
Dear all,
Last week, I had the pleasure of being invited to the German Bundestag by the Seeheimer Kreis (Seeheim Circle) of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) to discuss how Europe can create better regulatory conditions for frontier technologies.
Historically, the SPD drove major labor market reforms in Germany, but it has not exactly built a reputation for being startup-friendly. That is why I was surprised by the depth of understanding shown by the leaders in the room. Philipp Rottwilm, Peter Güllmann, and Esra-Leon Limbacher articulated the needs of frontier tech with the clarity of a founder meeting in Berlin, Paris, or London.
They understand something fundamental: building European tech champions is one of the most effective social policies Europe has. Pillars of prosperity like ASML and SAP prove this; SAP alone has created 100,000 jobs and paid an estimated €10 billion in taxes over twenty years. Scaling future giants like Mistral, Helsing, and Neura Robotics into €100bn+ champions could fund schools, infrastructure, and defense without continuously raising taxes.
One point from the discussion, however, stuck with me. The prevailing view was that there is no silver bullet for reforming states—that Europe must evolve incrementally. I respectfully disagree. A founder mindset—setting audacious goals and redesigning systems from first principles—is exactly what European states need now.
In 2000, the EU did something bold with the Lisbon Strategy: setting the goal of becoming “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world.” The strategy ultimately failed—but not because it was too ambitious. If anything, it lacked execution.
One framework that has helped companies turn ambition into reality is Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). Created at Intel and popularised by Google, OKRs force organisations to define exactly what they want to achieve.
So, here is some OKR-style inspiration for European heads of state looking to sharpen their mandates:
OKR 1: Europe unleashes growth capital on par with the US and China
>10% of pension and insurance capital is allocated to alternative assets, including venture and growth capital, enabled for example, through tax incentives for pension funds and insurers.
A single EU-wide growth-equity listing regime makes IPOs radically easier, with approvals in 90 days or less and total IPO costs at no more than half of US Nasdaq levels.
OKR 2: European states become the world’s most active buyer of frontier technologies
(not only a grant-giver, but a customer)
Frontier innovation agencies such as SPRIND, ARIA, AID, CDTI, UKDI, and their equivalents operate with permanent ARPA-style budgets of at least €1bn per year.
At least 5% of all public procurement is ring-fenced for frontier technologies, with 70% or more awarded to European companies by default.
A mandatory fast-lane procurement process allows frontier technologies to move from problem definition to contract award in 90 days or less.
More than 1,000 EU-wide frontier-tech framework agreements enable public authorities to procure new technologies within days instead of years.
OKR 3: European states become the least bureaucratic innovation environments on Earth
Companies can be founded—including bank account and registration—within 24 hours, with EU Inc as the default legal form.
Young technology companies benefit from five-year regulatory exemptions, including relaxed dismissal protection and proportionate GDPR requirements for non-sensitive data.
Visas and work permits for tech talent are issued within 14 days; companies are trusted if a signed employment contract with an annual salary above €50,000 exists, without additional state delays.
Public grant decisions and payments are completed within 90 days, with no mandatory consortia.
Permits for labs, pilot plants, and regulatory sandboxes are granted within six months, anywhere in Europe.
OKR 4: Europe builds a sovereign Big Tech industry with new global partners
Europe signs at least 10 strategic technology alliances with middle powers such as India, Japan, Taiwan, Israel, Singapore, the Gulf states, Canada, and selected African tech hubs.
At least 50% of public-sector digital spending is directed to European-controlled platforms or entities.
Market access for non-European Big Tech companies in strategic sectors is conditional on binding commitments to European R&D, compute, and infrastructure, open access for startups and scale-ups, and revenue-linked reinvestment in the European tech ecosystem.
Europe has a 2,000-year legacy of innovation. What it needs now is the courage to launch a new Renaissance—one built on technology and sovereignty. Incrementalism will not get us there. Ambition just might.
Wishing you an ambitious rest of the week,
Martin
Credits to Alex Hammer (Dunia), Jens Lapinski (AngelInvest), and Philipp Behr (DTM) for their input on the OKRs.
DEEP TECH OPEN | DEFENCE
Europe’s Top 5 Counter-Drone Startups (C-UAS) | Early-Stage (Pre-Seed and Seed from $1m)
Alpine Eagle | Munich, Germany
Technology: AI-powered airborne counter-drone platform (Sentinel) designed to detect, classify and intercept small UAS threats from the air using a scalable sensor and interceptor network optimized for contested environments.
Customers: Early adoption by the German military (Bundeswehr) and defence organisations; expanding international footprint including UK engagements.
Use cases: Airborne C-UAS protection for mobile units, critical infrastructure defence, and border security; scalable defence against low-cost autonomous drones.
Funding: €10.25M seed round (March 2025) led by IQ Capital with participation from HTGF, Expeditions Fund and Sentris Capital.
Why it matters: One of Europe’s most prominent seed-stage counter-drone innovators — transitioning airborne counter-UAS from concept to real deployments; focuses on European sovereignty in defence tech.
➔ Their system uses interceptor drones to chase and neutralize hostile UAVs mid-air — like a swarm of mini air-defense fighters.
Nordic Air Defence (NAD) | Stockholm, Sweden
Technology: Lightweight, software-centric drone interceptor platform (Kreuger100 / Kreuger-100XR) built to autonomously neutralise hostile drones with affordable, mass-deployable countermeasures.
Customers: Early proof-of-concept interest from civil/military trial contexts; engaging with EU defence programs and competitions.
Use cases: Portable point defence against commercial and battlefield drone threats; supporting police, critical-site and battlefield airspace protection.
Funding: ~$4.4M pre-seed/expanded pre-seed in July 2025 funding led by Inflection VC, one of Europe’s larger early rounds for C-UAS.
Why it matters: Pioneering a low-cost, easily scalable interceptor approach and helping build sovereign European counter-drone industrial capability.
➔ The Kreuger interceptor is designed to be so low-cost that it can be deployed in large numbers, flipping the economics of drone warfare.
DefSecIntel Solutions | Tallinn, Estonia
Technology: Autonomous counter-drone systems for detection and threat mitigation (including mobile surveillance and interception tech).
Customers: Partnerships with regional robotic developers (Origin Robotics) and early ecosystem engagements; Weibel Scientific (radar-systems, Denmark) and DefSecIntel Solutions announced a strategic collaboration; suited to NATO/Schengen border security contexts.
Use cases: Mobile detection and response systems for border zones and critical assets; contributes to ‘drone wall’ concepts.
Funding: Two undisclosed early-stage funding rounds and ecosystem support via Estonian defence tech networks; 6-figure grant in March 2025 by the Ministry of Defense of Estonia.
Why it matters: Represents smaller Baltic innovators addressing autonomous C-UAS challenges within a high-threat regional security environment.
Argus Interception | Rotenburg, Germany
Technology: Net-equipped counter-UAS drones that physically capture or force hostile drones to crash safely without kinetic munitions.
Customers: Tested by German law enforcement and Bundeswehr.
Use cases: Urban and critical infrastructure protection where safety constraints limit traditional weapons; multi-layered counter-drone strategy.
Funding: Company is primarily funded through revenue from contracts with the German armed forces (Bundeswehr) and police, rather than external venture capital
Why it matters: Demonstrates alternative counter-drone tactics reducing collateral risk — important for civilian and dual-use operations.
Dropla Tech | Odense, Denmark
Technology: Edge AI (“Blue Eyes”) that processes drone video feeds in real time to detect threats such as ambush drones and mines/IEDs along supply routes; built for high-speed inference on UAV sensor data.
Customers: Deployed with multiple frontline units in Ukraine; also oriented toward integration into NATO command / intelligence systems and broader European defence users.
Use cases: Counter-drone threat detection from ISR feeds (spotting dormant/hidden quadcopters used as ambush devices), convoy route security, and rapid “detect → coordinate → act” workflows without long post-processing delays.
Funding: €2.4M pre-seed (August 2025) backed by Maj Invest Holding, EIFO (Export and Investment Fund of Denmark), and Final Frontier (VC) to scale deployments and production.
Why it matters: Battle-tested edge AI moving from Ukraine’s operational reality into a scalable product and turning ISR drones into an automated counter-threat sensor layer that can plug into broader C-UAS architectures.
➔ Their AI scans live drone video feeds fast enough to spot hidden ambush drones that human operators usually miss.
THE PULSE
AI Is Growing Up — And the Risks Are Growing Faster
In his essay The Adolescence of Technology, Anthropic (the company behind Claude) CEO Dario Amodei argues that humanity is entering a critical transitional phase. Could we soon produce systems with intelligence far beyond that of humans? In his words, it would be “a country of geniuses in a datacenter.”
But he sees profound risks coming with that, including autonomy risks, misuse for destructive purposes, economic upheaval, and governance challenges.
The future of AI is uncertain, says Amodei. But the risks are big enough that both tech companies and governments need to step up.
Here are the five most relevant takeaways from his wake-up call:
AI is entering a new “adolescence” phase
We’re moving toward systems so powerful they could equal “a country of geniuses in a datacenter” — and change everything.The risks go far beyond bugs and bias
From loss of control and misuse by bad actors to massive economic disruption, powerful AI comes with serious downside scenarios.Our institutions may not be ready yet
Governments and social systems were not built to manage technology advancing this fast — and that gap is dangerous.We need realism, not hype or panic
Amodei calls for clear thinking, evidence-based risk assessment, and smart, targeted policies.Safety requires both companies and governments to act
Market forces alone won’t be enough — responsible industry behavior and public regulation must work together.
DTM OPPORTUNITIES
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ECOSYSTEM GIFT
Moving from Rhetoric to Industrial Results
How do you turn a vague ambition into a measurable result?
Why did Google adopt this framework when it had only 40 employees?
Can a simple goal-setting system actually help a continent compete?
If you have only ever heard of the OKRs framework but never really got the time to understand it or own a physical copy for your bookshelf, this is your chance.
In Measure What Matters, legendary investor John Doerr explains the system of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). This is a practical handbook on how Intel, Google, and the Gates Foundation used OKRs to build global influence.
John Doerr is Chairman at Kleiner Perkins and one of the most successful venture capitalists in history. He didn't just witness the rise of Big Tech—he supported the framework that allowed it to scale without losing focus.
We are giving away a copy of this book to build on the ideas in Martin’s latest column. Understanding OKRs is the first step in moving from political rhetoric to industrial results.
➔ Want to win a copy for your own desk? Reply “OKRs” to enter the draw!
Last Week’s Winner: Congratulations to Nicky Dibben and Fatih Ucar, who won a limited-edition Deep Tech Renaissance T-shirt.
Thank you for reading this far. Here are two ways to grow closer to the Deep Tech Now community:
Become a Guardian of European Deep Tech: Are you a senior leader seeking commercial partnerships with Europe’s leading Deep Tech startups and SMEs? Successful applicants join Deep Tech Momentum’s Guardian network, receiving complimentary VIP access to our flagship event in May. Apply here.
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— Isabelle and Martin
Co-Founders, DTM
