E672 | Stefan Roebel: Building Europe’s New Defense Tech Prime

Welcome back to the EUVC Podcast.Today Andreas is joined by Stefan Roebel, Co‑Founder & CEO of ARX Robotics — one of Europe’s fastest-rising defense tech startups.From his 12 years in the German Armed Forces to leadership roles at Amazon, eBay, and Grover, Stefan has lived both sides: the military front line and the global business battlefield. Now, he’s combining that experience to tackle one of the most pressing challenges of our time: Europe’s ability to defend itself in a new era of war.In this episode, Stefan shares ARX’s journey from DIY decoy robots to NATO-backed modular robotic systems already deployed in Ukraine. We dive deep into why Europe must break with its slow procurement culture, how startups can become the “new primes,” and what it really takes to build dual-use autonomy in a defense-first world.Here’s what’s covered:00:56 | From Afghanistan to Amazon to ARX Robotics: Stefan’s unlikely founder journey02:30 | The broomstick that became a digital decoy — ARX’s origin story06:34 | The first breakthrough: selling duct-taped prototypes that worked08:30 | ARX’s modular robotics suite explained (500kg payload, autonomy, retrofits)10:47 | Educating VCs: how defense tech went from “too weird” to oversubscribed13:55 | Picking investors: big names vs true believers with military insight16:53 | Real deployments in Ukraine: ammo supply & medevac in the kill zone19:49 | Why Ukraine’s lessons are shaping Europe’s defense future23:24 | The drone war changed everything: solving Europe’s “lack of mass”27:31 | Will ARX become a “new prime”? Why incumbents can’t move fast enough29:17 | Dual use beyond defense: disaster relief, critical infrastructure & NGOs32:36 | AI in defense robotics: solving missions, not chasing the holy grail35:21 | Hiring for defense: when military background matters (and when it doesn’t)40:57 | Why Stefan is hopeful for Europe’s defense tech ecosystem44:56 | Veterans, perception, and why “peace comes from strength”