PMV Bets on Europe’s Strategic Future with New Sovereignty-Focused Fund
As Europe accelerates efforts to strengthen its technological independence and industrial resilience, Belgium’s PMV is positioning itself at the forefront of the continent’s next wave of strategic innovation investing. With a new fund dedicated to sovereignty-enabling technologies in preparation, PMV aims to back companies building critical capabilities across dual-use, autonomous systems, deeptech and defence-related innovation.
Ahead of speaking at the upcoming Tech Tour Drones Innovation 2026 in Brussels, Hendrik-Jan Van Der Gucht, Senior Investment Manager at PMV, shares why Europe’s current geopolitical and economic landscape creates a unique momentum for strategic investment, why Flanders is emerging as a powerful launchpad for sovereign tech innovation, and how collaboration across investors, startups and industry stakeholders will be essential to Europe’s long-term competitiveness.
TT: Why is now the right moment for PMV to launch a new fund focused on sovereignty, and could you share more about it?
HJVDG: This is the right moment because Europe has entered a new phase where technological capability is no longer just an innovation question, but also a resilience and competitiveness question. In a number of strategic technology domains, Europe has world-class research, strong engineering talent and promising companies, but it still faces a financing gap when it comes to scaling these businesses fast enough and keeping critical capabilities anchored in Europe.
From PMV’s perspective, sovereignty is not about isolationism. It is about making sure that Europe – and Flanders as part of Europe – retains access to critical technologies, industrial know-how and value chains that matter for our economy, our security and our long-term autonomy.
That is why we are preparing a new fund focused on technologies that are strategically relevant and where Europe can build or reinforce leadership positions. Without going into all details at this stage, we are looking at areas such as dual-use and sovereignty-enabling technologies, including for example advanced drone-related technologies, autonomous systems, enabling software and data infrastructure, and selected adjacent deeptech domains with strong strategic relevance.
The fund will have a European investment lens, with a strong anchoring in Flanders and a clear ambition to connect local innovation to broader European ecosystems. We expect a first close by October. In parallel, we are already finalising the first investments, which we intend to warehouse through PMV ahead of the fund launch. That allows us to build momentum from day one and ensures the fund can start with a pipeline of highly relevant opportunities already in execution.
We are currently in the fundraising phase, so some parameters – including final fund size and the composition of the investor base – are not yet ready for full public disclosure, but the ambition is very clear: to create a platform that can back high-potential companies operating in strategically important technology segments.
TT: What makes PMV well-placed to lead this initiative?
HJVDG: PMV is well placed to lead this initiative because we combine three strengths that are particularly relevant in a fund focused on sovereignty and strategic technologies.
First, we have a long-term investment perspective. In strategic and deeptech domains, value creation often takes time. Companies need patient capital, but also an investor who understands that building critical capabilities is not a short-term exercise. PMV has that mindset and that mandate.
Second, we combine investment capacity with ecosystem knowledge. We are not just a financial investor. We are deeply embedded in the Flemish innovation and industrial landscape, and we are used to working across entrepreneurs, research institutions, corporates and public stakeholders. In sectors linked to sovereignty, that matters a great deal, because success depends not only on financing, but also on partnerships, industrial access, validation environments and international networks.
Third, PMV has a proven track record. Over the past 25 years, PMV has built a strong performance record while supporting economic development and innovation in Flanders. Our 25-year performance report shows that these objectives can go hand in hand: generating impact for the broader economy while maintaining a disciplined investment approach. In fact, an independent impact study found that every euro invested by PMV through capital and loans acts as a lever generating, on average, EUR 10.56 in direct added value for the Flemish economy. That is an important proof point that PMV can combine strategic and economic impact with solid investment discipline.
So I would say PMV is credible in this space because we bring capital, experience, network and a long-term commitment to building companies and ecosystems that matter for Flanders and for Europe.
TT: Why is Flanders a great location for the fund and its investments?
HJVDG: Flanders is a very strong base for this type of fund because it combines several things that are essential in strategic technology investing.
First, it has an exceptionally dense innovation ecosystem for its size: strong universities, top-tier research institutes, engineering talent, and a high concentration of advanced industrial players. That creates both technology origination and real industrial application opportunities.
Second, Flanders is highly international and deeply connected into European value chains. Companies here typically think internationally from day one, which is critical if you want to build scalable businesses in strategic tech.
Third, Flanders has a pragmatic public-private mindset. There is a strong tradition of collaboration between entrepreneurs, knowledge centres, corporates, investors and public institutions. For a fund operating in sovereignty-related domains, that ecosystem approach matters a lot because success depends not only on capital, but also on access to customers, pilots, manufacturing capabilities, talent and regulatory understanding.
And finally, from PMV’s perspective, being based in Flanders gives us a strong home market and sourcing base, while still being naturally connected to the rest of Europe. So Flanders is not just a location; it is a launchpad into a broader European opportunity set.”
TT: Who are the investor backers (limited partners) of the fund? Who will you co-invest with?
HJVDG: At this stage, we are not yet disclosing the names of limited partners individually, as the fundraising process is still ongoing. What I can say is that we are seeing interest from investors who understand both the strategic relevance of the theme and the long-term value creation opportunity behind it.
We expect the LP base to be made up of parties that are aligned with the ambition of strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy and technology base, while also supporting commercially strong businesses with international growth potential.
In terms of co-investment, our model is very much ecosystem-driven. We expect to work alongside a mix of European venture capital investors, deeptech and dual-use specialist funds, strategic industrial partners, and where relevant also public or public-backed capital players. Building syndicates will be important, because companies in these sectors often need patient capital, domain knowledge and access to industrial networks.
So the short answer is: we are building a strong and complementary investor base, but some names will be announced only once we are ready to do so publicly.
TT: Why does PMV believe platforms like Tech Tour Drones Innovation are useful and impactful for Europe right now?
HJVDG: Platforms like Tech Tour are especially valuable right now because Europe does not suffer from a lack of innovation potential; it suffers too often from fragmentation. Many strong companies, investors, corporates and public stakeholders are active in the ecosystem, but they are not always connected early enough or efficiently enough.
What Tech Tour does well is create a high-quality meeting point between entrepreneurs, investors and strategic stakeholders around a clearly defined technology domain. That helps in several ways: it improves visibility for emerging companies, accelerates access to capital, facilitates cross-border connections, and strengthens the overall European investment and innovation ecosystem.
In a field like drones and related autonomous systems, this matters even more because the market is evolving quickly and the strategic relevance is increasing. Europe needs stronger networks, faster learning loops and more coordinated scaling pathways. Events and platforms that bring together the right people can genuinely accelerate that process.
For PMV, these platforms are useful because they help identify companies early, understand market developments, meet co-investors and engage with a broader European ecosystem that is highly relevant for the companies we want to support
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Europe’s sovereignty agenda is rapidly evolving from policy discussion into investment reality — and PMV is clearly aiming to play a central role in shaping that future. As strategic technologies become increasingly critical to Europe’s economic resilience, security and industrial leadership, initiatives like PMV’s new fund highlight the growing importance of patient capital, cross-border collaboration and ecosystem-driven innovation.
For Europe’s startup and investor community, the message is clear: the next generation of globally relevant companies may well emerge from the intersection of deeptech, dual-use innovation and strategic autonomy.
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