What Expeditions does

Expeditions is a Warsaw-headquartered, London-co-located venture capital firm founded in 2021 by Dr Mikołaj Firlej and Stanisław Kastory that operates as the leading early-stage investor in the future of European security. It runs two funds — Fund I (Expeditions sp. z o.o. ASI sp. kom., Polish KNF-registered) and Fund II (Expeditions Fund II SCSp, Luxembourg CSSF-registered, targeting €150M with €100M+ committed by September 2025) — deploying patient seed and Series A capital into European defence and dual-use startups across cybersecurity, intelligence, autonomy, AI, quantum, privacy, communications and space, with a portfolio of more than 30 companies that includes Alpine Eagle, Comand AI, EGIDE, Gambit Cyber, Horizon Quantum, Lendurai, Nu Quantum, Orqa, Project Q, Sky Spy, Twin Prime and others.

The firm's underlying technology platform is its 'Silent Unseen' ecosystem programme — an Incubator that connects security professionals with AI and tech talent, a six-week Fellowship that embeds serving national-security and government professionals inside the VC workflow, and regular Meet-ups that convene the European defence community. Expedition monetises through standard VC fund economics: management fees on committed or invested capital across Fund I and Fund II, carried interest on profitable exits (with at least four portfolio companies acquired and Horizon Quantum listed on Nasdaq via SPAC in March 2026), and co-investment-driven relationships with European defence primes including Theon, Saab and BAE Systems (the last committing €25M in June 2026). Limited Partners in Fund II include the NATO Innovation Fund, the Polish Development Fund and early executives from Skype, Wise, Bolt and Snowflake.

Name

Expeditions

Legal name

Expeditions sp. z o.o. ASI sp. kom.

Website

https://expeditionsfund.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Expeditions is a Warsaw- and London-based venture capital firm founded in 2021 that backs early-stage European defence and dual-use deep-tech startups at the intersection of security, AI, autonomy, quantum and space, operating Fund I and a €150M-target Fund II.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital — Defence Technology

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Defence technology investing
• Early stage venture capital
• Dual-use deep tech
• European security funding
• Defence startup incubation

Headquarters

HQ city

Warsaw

HQ country

Poland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Venture capital fund management (Fund I & Fund II): Expeditions operates as a registered Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) running Fund I (Expeditions sp. z o.o. ASI sp. kom., Polish KNF registered) and Fund II (Expeditions Fund II SCSp, Luxembourg CSSF registered). Revenue comes from standard VC fund economics — management fees on committed/invested capital plus carried interest (carry) on profitable exits. LPs include the NATO Innovation Fund, Polish Development Fund, BAE Systems, and early executives from Skype, Wise, Bolt, and Snowflake.
2. Equity returns from portfolio investments: Long-term returns generated through equity stakes in early-stage defence and dual-use startups across cybersecurity, intelligence, autonomy, AI, quantum, privacy, communications, and space sectors. Successful exits include Blackwall, Cambridge Aerospace, Nu Quantum, Orasio, and others shown as 'Acquired' on the portfolio page.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Expeditions is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in European defence and dual-use deep tech startups across cybersecurity, intelligence, autonomy, AI, quantum, privacy, communications and space. It operates two investment funds (Fund I, a Polish-registered AIFM, and Fund II, a Luxembourg-registered SCSp targeting €150M) that deploy patient seed and Series A capital into portfolio companies, and runs the Silent Unseen ecosystem programmes (Incubator, Fellowship and Meet-ups) to connect national security professionals with technology founders.

Product overview

Expeditions is a venture capital firm (not a software product company) operating as a single firm-wide platform of two complementary early-stage investment funds plus an ecosystem initiative. Its core product is the Expeditions Fund I (Expeditions sp. z o.o. ASI sp. kom.) — its inaugural Polish-registered fund backing defence and dual-use startups at the intersection of security and deep tech. On top of Fund I, Expeditions operates Expeditions Fund II (Expeditions Fund II SCSp), a Luxembourg-registered SCSp targeting €150M, which has already deployed into portfolio companies such as Lendurai, Orasio, and Project Q. Complementing these capital products, Expeditions runs the Silent Unseen ecosystem programme, which is structured as three modules: the Silent Unseen Incubator (connecting security professionals with AI/tech talent), the Silent Unseen Fellowship (a six-week VC immersion course for government/national-security professionals), and Silent Unseen Meet-ups (regular community events). Together the funds deploy patient capital across cybersecurity, intelligence, autonomy, AI, quantum, privacy, communications, and space, while the Silent Unseen programme builds the underlying talent and policy network across European security and defence.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Silent Unseen: An initiative umbrella comprising the Silent Unseen Incubator (connecting security and defence professionals with AI and technology talent), the Silent Unseen Fellowship (a six-week course for serving national security or government professionals), and Silent Unseen Meet-ups (regular events for the security and defence community). Named after the elite Polish special forces unit.

Products and services

• Expeditions Fund I (Expeditions sp. z o.o. ASI sp. kom.)
• Expeditions Fund II (Expeditions Fund II SCSp)
• Silent Unseen Incubator
• Silent Unseen Fellowship
• Silent Unseen Meet-ups

Quantifiable outcome

• Fund I track record places Expeditions in the top 0.01% of funds globally (Cambridge Associates benchmark)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SaabcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026Saab participated alongside Expeditions in the €32M Series A round of portfolio company Comand AI, the Paris-based developer of the Prevail AI-native command-and-control platform for France and wider NATO markets.
• TheoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 May 2026Theon, a large European defence prime and Expeditions portfolio company Twin Prime intend to form a Joint Venture to develop, commercialise and deploy bespoke AI solutions built on Twin Prime's proprietary models. The JV continues Theon's Theon Next initiative, augmenting its extensive sensor and product deployments. Theon also participated in Twin Prime's $10M pre-seed round led by Expeditions.
• Bitdefender Voyager VenturesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2025Bitdefender Voyager Ventures co-invested with Expeditions in the $3.4M seed round of portfolio company Gambit Cyber, supporting the scale-up of the KnightGuard AI-native CTEM platform across Europe, the UAE, and Asia-Pacific.
• Resilience Media (Resilience Conference Warsaw)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerResilience Conference Warsaw is powered by Expeditions and serves as a flagship ecosystem event where Expeditions co-founder Mikolaj Firlej is a featured speaker. Resilience Media also publishes the '100 startups to watch 2026' list that includes multiple Expeditions portfolio companies.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Lakestar: Lakestar is a major European venture capital firm that, like Expeditions, received a €25M commitment from BAE Systems as part of its €50M Launchpad programme backing European defence-tech VC funds in 2026. Both firms operate across European deep tech with overlap on dual-use and frontier technology investments, though Lakestar is much larger and broader in scope.
• Eurazeo: Eurazeo co-led EGIDE's €8M seed round alongside Expeditions. Eurazeo is a large European private equity and venture platform with an increasing focus on defence-tech, but it operates across a much broader investment mandate than the focused Expeditions fund.

Direct peers

• NATO Innovation Fund (NIF): The NATO Innovation Fund is a named Limited Partner in Expeditions Fund II and is itself a multi-stage defence and dual-use deep-tech investor across the Alliance. Both operate as institutional investors backing European security and defence founders at the intersection of deep tech and security, competing for similar deals and LP relationships.
• Project A Ventures: Project A led the €7.5M seed round of Expeditions portfolio company Project Q (with Expeditions participating), and is a Berlin-based European venture investor with an active portfolio in defence, cybersecurity, and deep tech. Direct co-investment on European security deals makes it a comparable peer.
• IQ Capital: IQ Capital co-led Nu Quantum's pre-Series A alongside Expeditions and led the €10.25M Alpine Eagle seed in which Expeditions participated. As a Cambridge-based deep-tech VC with explicit quantum, defence and dual-use focus, IQ Capital is a direct comparable in the European defence/dual-use investment category.
• Amadeus Capital Partners: Amadeus Capital Partners co-led the £7M Nu Quantum pre-Series A with Expeditions Fund. Amadeus is a deep-tech specialist (quantum, AI, cybersecurity) investing across Europe — directly comparable to Expeditions on defence-adjacent deep-tech rounds.
• Vsquared Ventures: Vsquared Ventures participated in the €5.57M Lendurai seed alongside Expeditions. As a European deep-tech VC with explicit portfolio focus on defence, autonomy, and frontier technology, Vsquared is a directly comparable European defence-tech peer.
• Heartcore Capital: Heartcore Capital co-led EGIDE's €8M seed round alongside Expeditions and Eurazeo. As a European consumer-tech and now defence-tech investor, Heartcore is an active co-investor in the same European defence-tech seed category.
• HCVC: HCVC participated in the €5.57M Lendurai seed alongside Expeditions and is a Paris-based early-stage VC with an explicit hard-tech and defence-tech thesis. As a fellow European hard-tech specialist, HCVC is a directly comparable peer in the same category.

Others

• Octopus Ventures: Octopus Ventures is the prior employer of Expeditions Partner Samuel Burrell and is a major UK deep-tech VC that overlaps with Expeditions on UK and European frontier-technology investments. It is comparable as a talent and deal-flow peer rather than a direct defence-focused investor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments46 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Expeditions