EPISODE · Jul 22, 2026 · 21 MIN
Stanislaw Kastory and Mikolaj Firlej, Co-founders and General Partners at Expeditions: Backing Europe's defence startups with €197m fund
from Scaling Europe · host Sebastian Johnson
Expeditions is one of Europe's only venture funds dedicated to defence and security startups. The firm recently closed its second fund at €197m.Stanislaw Kastory and Mikolaj Firlej are Co-founders and General Partners at Expeditions. The firm backs early-stage teams across defence, cybersecurity, quantum and space technology. The new fund plans to make around 40 early-stage investments, with half its capital reserved for follow-on rounds.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel. Check them out here: https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Chargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeLovable: https://lovable.dev/Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:08 - Expeditions closes its €197m second fund1:04 - How raising fund two differed from fund one4:23 - Fund one's early bets in defence tech7:10 - What's different about fund two's strategy9:40 - Where Europe's biggest defence gaps are12:36 - How Expeditions finds and evaluates startups16:20 - Do European countries compete for their own defence champions?19:52 - Financing war vs. financing European defence
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Stanislaw Kastory and Mikolaj Firlej, Co-founders and General Partners at Expeditions: Backing Europe's defence startups with €197m fund
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