At the EUVC Summit 2025, the stage belonged to a voice shaped by geopolitics, defense, and the future of industrial innovation: Sebastian von Ribbentrop, Managing Partner at Join Capital.

Sebastian took us on a journey—one that started in Berlin in 2017 with a cornerstone commitment from Eiser Capital, and has since expanded to NATO, Ukraine, and beyond.

Not Just Startups. Not Just Capital.
Join was born when European engineers left corporates like Siemens and Airbus to build their own ventures—but weren’t getting funded.

Sebastian and his team stepped in. Today, with 148 LPs (90% from across Europe’s industrial heartlands), Join has become a backbone for the builders reimagining enterprise and defense.

The paradigm shift became undeniable in 2023, when the NATO Innovation Fund wrote its largest ticket into Join Fund II. It wasn’t just capital—it was a mandate to help reshape defense and industrialization.

A New Industrial Moment
From Washington’s NATO anniversary to trips into Ukraine, Sebastian’s message was clear: the defense supply chain has transformed.

It is now:

Fast
Targeted
Smart

And while Europe faces inefficiencies (43 different tanks vs. one Abrams in the U.S.), it also faces a massive market opportunity.

Billions at Play
The scale is unprecedented:

€200 billion from Ursula von der Leyen into defense & infrastructure
€500+ billion from Germany’s new chancellor, Matz
$500 billion floated by Trump over the next five years

These aren’t subsidies—they’re revenues. Offset programs that give companies the ability to build products, not just pitch ideas.

DARPA, Dual Use & the Technology Race
Sebastian reminded the room: shocks create breakthroughs. Sputnik birthed DARPA, which still deploys $4 billion annually into challenges.

Now, the race is on—dual-use technology, export restrictions, inexpensive smart radar systems taking down next-gen jets.

Europe, he argued, must catch up. But it has the chance to lead.

“Geopolitics,” he quoted Kissinger, “is 100% personal.” And Europe must take responsibility—urgently.

Leadership With Teeth
Sebastian’s talk wasn’t about abstractions. It was about:

How wars reshape supply chains overnight
How NATO’s backing changes venture capital
How Europe can seize its industrial and defense moment

Because leadership in this decade won’t be written in press releases. It will be written in supply chains, radar systems, and the speed of capital deployment.

Congratulations to Sebastian von Ribbentrop and Join Capital—for reminding the ecosystem that industrial innovation isn’t just defense spending. It’s Europe’s opportunity to lead in a world being reshaped, fast.

Wraps, more wraps and salad advice from Steve Cropper.

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