🚨 7 Funding Opportunities & 6 November Hackathons
🚨 Funding Opportunities & Six November Hackathons
Fostering Defense Innovation for European Sovereignty
Hey everybody,
This November, we're hosting six hackathons across Europe: Copenhagen and Munich on November 6–8; Almere on November 13–15; Prishtina and Paris on November 20–22; and Berlin on November 27–29.
Danish Defense Tech Week starts today, running November 5th to 12th, and you can still sign up for some of the events.
Our Defense Tech Days in Berlin run November 24–29, including the Drone Defense Summit and Financing Europe's Security Stack, with more to be announced.
Across the community and ecosystem:
BattleVerse: Apply by November 16 for up to €60,000 per participant for six-month experiments in AI, simulation and autonomous systems.
Defence Builder Batch 4: Applications have reopened until November 15 for teams with a working prototype at TRL 4+.
Dimension X: Apply by November 6 for Hatch's funded proof-of-concept program to work with Singapore's public safety end users.
HMGCC Co-Creation: Submit a one-page proposal by November 23 for the RF classification challenge, with £60,000 for a 12-week project.
EUDIS Business Accelerator: Applications close November 16 for the next cohort, offering coaching, testing opportunities, and a €120,000 seed voucher tied to agreed objectives.
EWOR Fellowship: Apply through our EDTH link by November 30 for investment, mentoring, and support with building your company.
Doers Summit: Growth&Glory is offering complimentary passes and selected startup packages for AI and robotics founders at the Dubai event on November 25–26.
UKDI Tactical Power Challenge: Applications close November 10, with a funded development track for power generation, storage, charging and distribution.
Product validation: Defence Builder's guide, based on our joint Validated & Fundable series, covers user evidence, integration costs and buying decisions before you commit months to development.
🇪🇺 November Hackathons | Six Cities, Four Weekends
We're hosting six defense tech hackathons this November. Come join us:
🇩🇰 Copenhagen | November 6–8 — Passive detection, uncrewed surface vessels and undersea infrastructure.
🇩🇪 Munich | November 6–8 — OSINT and countering disinformation at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich.
🇳🇱 Almere | November 13–15 — Maritime security, counter-drone systems and resilient communications, with TechConnect Almere.
🇽🇰 Prishtina | November 20–22 — Our first Kosovo edition, with the Ministry of Defence and Innovation Centre Kosovo.
🇫🇷 Paris | November 20–22 — Our fourth Paris edition and two-year anniversary, co-organized with Adopt AI.
🇩🇪 Berlin | November 27–29 — Autonomy, counter-drone technology, sensing, electronic warfare and resilient communications.
🇩🇰 Danish Defense Tech Week | November 5–12
November 5: Sovereign Compute Meetup, Copenhagen. (Closed)
November 5: Danish Defense Dinner, Copenhagen. (Closed)
November 6–8: Copenhagen Defense Tech Hackathon.
November 9: Aalborg | The Electronic Warfare Edge.
November 10: Aarhus | Cybersecurity During War and Peace.
November 11: Odense | Autonomous Defense Systems.
November 12: Copenhagen | European Defense: Adapt or Fall Behind.
🇩🇪 Defense Tech Days Berlin | November 24–29
November 25: Drone Defense Summit, co-hosted with CMS Hasche, 13:00–20:00 CET.
November 25: Financing Europe's Security Stack — an evening for LPs and GPs.
November 27–29: Berlin Defense Tech Hackathon.
More to be announced.
Across the Defense Tech Ecosystem
BattleVerse | Up to €60,000 for Six-Month Experiments
Apply by November 16
BattleVerse is funding six-month experiments in AI, simulation and autonomous systems. Startups and SMEs from EU Member States, Norway and Ukraine can apply individually or with up to two partners.
Funding is up to €60,000 per beneficiary, capped at €180,000 per experiment.
Dimension X | Funded Validation With Public Safety End Users
Apply by November 6
Hatch's four-month Dimension X program helps teams develop and test proofs of concept with Singapore's public safety agencies. Selected teams can receive up to SGD 100,000 in funding without giving up equity, while retaining their IP.
Challenges include drone detection, autonomous navigation, maritime sensing, and operations in GNSS-denied environments. Applications are open globally. If you already have a solution, your proposal should explain how you'll adapt it to the challenge.
HMGCC Co-Creation | £60,000 RF Classification Challenge
Submit a one-page proposal by November 23
HMGCC is looking for software that can detect and classify radio-frequency emitters in crowded environments, including brief or infrequent transmissions.
The challenge has a £60,000 budget, excluding VAT, for a single 12-week project, with a prototype expected to reach at least TRL 4. The first application is one page; selected applicants then submit a full proposal. Individuals, companies and research organizations can apply, subject to the published eligibility conditions.
EUDIS Business Accelerator | €120,000 Seed Voucher
Apply by November 16
The next EUDIS cohort starts in March 2027. Twenty startups and scaleups will join an eight-month program with coaching, five European bootcamps, testing opportunities, and access to defense end users and investors.
Selected companies receive a €120,000 seed voucher, tied to progress against agreed objectives. This is for teams with a functioning prototype or product and some commercial or pre-commercial success. EU and Norwegian teams can check the full ownership and eligibility requirements on the program website.
EWOR Fellowship | Applications Open
Apply by November 30
EWOR supports founders with investment, individual mentoring, and access to its network of investors and founders. Its virtual-first fellowship works with founders at different stages, including those still developing an idea.
If you're looking for support with building the company around your technology, explore the fellowship and its investment terms through our EDTH application link.
Doers Summit | Opportunities for AI and Robotics Founders
Dubai | November 25–26
Growth&Glory is offering complimentary passes and selected Startup Spotlight packages for founders building AI and robotics for industrial applications.
The packages can include a startup pitch, on-stage pitching, deck distribution, and access to investors. Additional stage opportunities are being allocated now, so get in touch soon if there's a fit.
Contact Karo Hajduk at [email protected] with a short introduction to your startup. Offers depend on selection and availability.
UKDI Tactical Power Challenge
UKDI's Tactical Power Challenge closes on November 10 at 12:00 GMT. The funded track has a total budget of £2.45 million, excluding VAT, for technologies progressing from TRL 4 to TRL 6, including power generation, storage, charging, and distribution.
A separate, unfunded market engagement track covers more mature technologies. Read the requirements and submit a proposal.
Before You Build Your Next Defense Product
In a new article based on our Validated & Fundable series with Defence Builder, Yana Shkvarovska sets out what teams should check before committing months to development:
Ask users about a specific recent problem, and compare what operators, commanders, and repair teams tell you.
Separate a working demo from evidence that the product solves the problem in practice.
Include training, maintenance, spare parts, and integration in the cost of using it.
Identify who uses the product, who integrates it, and who can approve the purchase.
Decide what evidence would make you change direction before you spend months building.
Batch 4 applications are open again until November 15. Teams worldwide with a working prototype at TRL 4+ can apply for the four-month accelerator. Support includes validation from military users and introductions to investors. Selected teams may receive starting funding in exchange for a minority equity stake. Explore Batch 4 and apply.
Winterthur: Twenty teams spent 48 hours building prototypes to protect critical infrastructure. Flying Meatballs, BirdEater and Argus Defense took the top three places. See what they built.
After the hackathon: Steggo, which began at an EDTH hackathon, has announced backing from Antler for its radio intelligence work. Read the team's update.
Join the EDTH Community for hackathon Demo Days, workshops, and other community events.
See you at the next one!
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