E628 | EUCVC Summit 2025: Tanja Lind Melskens, Head of Corporate Strategy; M&A, Terma & Andreas: Defense, Disruption & Dual-Use: Europe’s Next Frontier in Innovation

Welcome back to the EUCVC Summit Talks, where we bring you the voices shaping Europe’s venture and corporate collaboration landscape.

In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm speaks with Tanja Lind Melskens, Head of Corporate Strategy and M&A at Terma, Denmark’s tier-one defense technology group. As Europe re-arms and defense spending surges, Tanja shares how startups, corporates, and investors must rethink dual-use technology, navigate inflated wartime valuations, and prepare for the post-conflict market.

From frontline innovation in Ukraine to the challenges of ESG in defense tech, this conversation sheds light on one of the most important—and controversial—frontiers for venture collaboration.

00:00 Europe’s re-armament: rising budgets, real opportunities—and inflated valuations.
01:30 Ukraine as the “Silicon Valley of defense tech”: 4 million drones a year and frontline R&D.
03:00 Why startups must prepare for the post-conflict market, not just donation-driven sales.
04:30 Terma’s Kyiv subsidiary and partnerships with Ukrainian startups.
06:00 Drone wars and critical infrastructure: protecting energy, transport, and hospitals.
07:00 ESG in defense: compliance vs. survival in frontline innovation.
08:00 Risks no VC faces: working with founders whose survival is uncertain.

💡 One-liner takeaway: Europe’s defense tech boom is real but risky—success depends on bridging frontline innovation with post-conflict markets, and balancing ESG ideals with the brutal realities of war.