Defence Tech Denmark

Defence Tech Denmark is a national growth program for startups and SMEs with technologies for the defence industry, or technologies that can move into it.

At a glance: 10–14 startups and 10–14 SMEs a year · Acceleration or transformation · No participation fee · Application deadline 1 October 2026

The program gives a company networks, specialist knowledge, and resources for a complex and regulated market. It is founded by the Danish Industry Foundation, Innovation Fund Denmark, and EIFO, with DKK 200 million behind it, and operated by DTU Science Park and the Danish Technological Institute.

What you get

Participants follow a tailored course of development sprints, expert guidance, and competence building in regulation, business, and technology. A sprint is an intensive development process of two to six months, shaped around the company.

• Regulation and certification: requirements, standards, STANAG numbers, and rules such as offset
• Market insight for Denmark, the USA, Ukraine, and Europe, including go-to-market experience
• Product development and testing, with technical sparring and facilities for optimisation, testing, and documentation
• Funding guidance, investor contact, and international financing, including exposure to EIFO and to Innofounder and Innobooster
• A mentor team, workshops, a desk at DTU Science Park, and laboratory facilities at the Danish Technological Institute
• Doors to demonstrations with the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) and to testing during military exercises

Who it is for

Startups and SMEs. You do not already have to be a defence supplier. Each year the program admits 10–14 startups and 10–14 SMEs. The aim is to mature technology and grow a sector where only about 45 core Danish companies are active today.

• Cyber, communications, and information security, including artificial intelligence
• Electromagnetic technologies: detection, radar, jamming, and signal processing
• Materials, quantum technology, sensors, and biotechnology
• Drones, unmanned systems, and space
• Maritime surveillance, navigation, and protection of infrastructure at sea
• Industrial production of defence equipment, and training and simulation
• Protection, survivability, and energy solutions for military use or critical infrastructure

Before the program starts, the company must be established in Denmark with a CVR number. You can apply before that and describe when the company will be registered. The team must have at least two full-time founders. Expect one to two days a week, with some periods more intensive, and some activities that require you to be there in person. There is no participation fee.

How to apply

Send one application, with the pitch deck template, through the Defence Tech Denmark application form. The deadline for this round is 1 October 2026. An application for Innofounder or Innobooster is not an application for this program. If you want both, submit a separate Defence Tech Denmark application and a different pitch deck.

Read the program, the FAQ, and the Defence Tech Denmark site.