- Expeditions has closed its second fund at €197 million, surpassing the revised target of €150 million. Keysight Technologies is a new investor in this round.
- This closing confirms that BAE Systems’ €25 million Launchpad investment, first reported by TFN in June, is included in the final fund.
- Cambridge Associates reports that Fund I’s portfolio, which features Alpine Eagle and Nu Quantum, places Expeditions among the top 0.01% of funds worldwide.
Expeditions, which operates from Warsaw and London, closed its second fund at €197 million. This is more than twice its original target and above the revised €150 million goal set in September 2025. The closing brings two major industrial companies on board as limited partners, making them more than just customers of the fund’s portfolio companies.
In June 2026, BAE Systems committed €25 million to Expeditions as part of the second phase of its Launchpad programme. This investment is part of the final close, along with new commitments from Keysight Technologies, a US defence software company, and the European Investment Fund’s Defence Equity Facility, which supports European venture funds investing in defence SMEs.
David Ewing, head of technology commercialisation at BAE Systems, said that Expeditions’ focus on growing defence technology aligns with Launchpad’s goal of linking early-stage innovation with real-world capability. He also said the partnership reflects a belief in working together across the defence and start-up sectors to make a difference.
Eric Taylor, Keysight’s vice president and general manager for aerospace and defence, notes that agility and teamwork are key in today’s defence sector. He notes Expedition Shield’s founders are changing defence capabilities for Western allies.
The actual closing of the fund is important. By September 2025, Expeditions had raised over €100 million and aimed for €150 million by the end of the year. The fund closed almost €50 million above this goal, with the Polish Development Fund and NATO Innovation Fund returning as backers.
Fund I’s track record explains the appetite
Expeditions was founded in 2021 by Dr Mikolaj Firlej and Stanislaw Kastory. Fund I focused on early investments in Alpine Eagle, Comand AI, Blackwall, Horizon Quantum, and Nu Quantum.
Comand AI later raised a €32 million Series A round with Blossom Capital and Saab, a deal Tech Funding News also covered, demonstrating that the fund’s early support attracted additional institutional interest. Expeditions says this track record puts it in the top 0.01% of venture funds worldwide, based on Cambridge Associates benchmark data.
Stanislaw Kastory, co-founder and general partner, shares, “Europe is not deploying new defence technologies at the pace needed to match the emerging threats we’re facing.”
Dr Mikolaj Firlej, co-founder and general partner, adds, “Europe mistook stability for permanence and restraint for strength. The result was years of underinvestment in the capabilities that underpin security. That period is ending.”
Expeditions plans to open new offices in Munich and Paris, expanding beyond its current locations in Warsaw and London. However, backers still wonder whether €197 million will be enough to address the capability gaps identified by the founders, especially compared with much larger US defence-tech venture funds.
