The start button has been pressed: Defence Tech Denmark is now lifting the first companies into the defense industry

January 16. 2026

Photo: Rasmus Degnbol

More than 150 companies have applied to become part of Defence Tech Denmark, Denmark's new national growth program for defense and security technology. 27 companies have been selected to participate in the new initiative, which aims to strengthen Danish competitiveness and bring Danish technology faster into the defense and security market.

With an official kick-off, the 27 companies have begun targeted processes to mature, test and ensure implementation of their technological solutions in the defence industry.

The program is founded and supported by the Danish Industry Foundation, Innovation Fund Denmark and EIFO and is run by DTU Science Park and the Danish Technological Institute. Over three years, Defence Tech Denmark will work with a total of 72 Danish startups and small and medium-sized enterprises that develop technologies relevant to defense, security and critical infrastructure.

- In many ways, technology has become synonymous with defense. Fortunately, Denmark is far ahead in many critical technologies, and we have strong innovation environments. We must become even better at exploiting this – also in our defense. Defence Tech Denmark opens up the opportunity for new companies to bring their technology into play in the defense industry. It is a strong and necessary initiative, says Minister of Education and Research Christina Egelund, who, among others, welcomed the selected companies to today's kick-off.

According to Director of Defence Tech Denmark, Jimmy Binderup Andersen, the initiative is fundamentally about making Denmark better at converting technological strength into real delivery capability.

- Denmark does not lack ideas or technology. We lack pace, coherence and a professional path from development to application. Defence Tech Denmark was created to close that gap, he says.

A market in motion

The international market for defense and security technology is growing rapidly, and competition for both technological leadership and industrial capabilities has intensified. For Danish companies, this means that innovation is no longer enough in itself - solutions must be scalable, deliverable and work in practice.

Denmark has strong research and innovation environments here, but the path from the laboratory to operational use has often been long. It is this challenge that Defence Tech Denmark is now tackling:

- With Defence Tech Denmark, we are strengthening the connection between research and innovation, companies and users, so that more defence and security technologies can move all the way from knowledge to reality and further towards international scaling. This is important for both Denmark's security and our competitiveness, says Cecilie Brøkner, CEO of Innovation Fund Denmark.

A boost to Danish competitiveness

The kick-off event marked the start of the concrete work with the companies in the first year of the program. The process includes targeted advice, mentoring, testing and validation, as well as access to investors and collaboration with operational actors.

For the foundations behind the program, Defence Tech Denmark was founded as a strategic response to both security policy and business challenges.

- Security and defense are in demand, and Denmark already has leading companies that are doing very well in this area. But more people need to get on board – including Danish entrepreneurs and the many small and medium-sized enterprises. It is a difficult market to navigate, but with targeted growth paths we are paving the way for more Danish companies to offer innovative dual-use solutions and groundbreaking defense technology, says Thomas Hofman-Bang, CEO of the Danish Industry Foundation.

Another of the fundamental foundations points to the need for a more concerted national effort.

- There are currently less than 50 core companies in the Danish defense industry. Given the world we live in, that is far too few. By selecting the first 13 startups and the first 14 SMEs, we are taking a significant and important step with Defence Tech Denmark, which both increases the number of new, potential core companies and at the same time stimulates existing Danish defense companies so that they mature more quickly and become ready for scaling. I am very much looking forward to following the further development of these 27 companies, says Peder Lundquist, CEO of EIFO.

The interest in Defence Tech Denmark has been significant. The first round of applications attracted almost 150 companies, which, according to Jimmy Binderup Andersen, confirms both the market's potential and the need for a structured national effort.

- There is enormous commitment and a willingness in Danish business to contribute. Our task now is to ensure that the best solutions actually reach the end, he says.

Photo: Rasmus Degnbol

Facts

Broad portfolio of defense tech companies

27 companies are participating in this year's Defence Tech Denmark. All are working with technology that can make a difference in the defence industry. Among the solutions are autonomous drones, drones that can fly over long distances, products that can train soldiers, both mentally and physically, advanced materials that can replace current ones and make them more robust and cost-effective. There are also AI technologies that can assess large data sets and monitor the internet and also the real world. Together, these are solutions that can be used on land, at sea and in the air, as well as medical solutions that can help civilians and soldiers.

Facts about Defence Tech Denmark

Defence Tech Denmark is a national growth program for defense technology, founded and supported by the Danish Industry Foundation, Innovation Fund Denmark and EIFO. The program is run by DTU Science Park and the Danish Technological Institute and will work with 72 startups and SMEs over three years.

List of selected companies:

Abtrion APS

Aethena DeepMind

Bionic System Solutions (BSS)

Blinktroll Robotics ApS

Blue Atlas Robotics ApS

Coredive ApS

Cph InnoTech ApS

DanaDynamics ApS

Foresight ApS

Godwit Systems

Hecto Drone ApS

LIITA Care

MDSI ApS

MindMind ApS

Monopulse

Nanocore ApS

NeGSiS Production

O2matic

OODALOOP Technologies ApS

ORM Defence ApS

PDC-Plastic

Phase One A/S

Sapientia Solutions ApS

Scurid ApS

Triton Depth Aps

BBM Int. ApS

Dropla Tech ApS