The OpImpact panel at DefenseTech Expo brought a clear consensus: DefenseTech is now a standalone investment category. We highlighted a structural shift in global security requiring rapid adaptation across governments, primes, investors, and founders. Capital alone is no longer enough. We expanded beyond the US, emphasizing Europe, GCC, and Asia as active shapers of the market. Key themes included cross-border alliances for scaling, information velocity over capital, emerging global strategic investors, and resilience in long defense cycles.

OpImpact management teams’ visit to Abu Dhabi underscored the UAE’s role as a global hub for business, capital, and innovation, supported by a national strategy investing over 2.5% of GDP in technology and future industries. The visit included engagement with regional leaders and participation with Al Liwan Group in celebrating its expanding global wealth management footprint. In the Gulf, impact is built on patience, presence, and relationships, aligning with OpImpact’s long-term, cross-border collaboration mission.

The dual-use playbook is being rewritten. The old model of building commercially first and later entering defense is breaking down. Defense is no longer slow or last resort, with global spending exceeding $2.7 trillion in 2025 and urgent procurement accelerating across governments. The model has flipped: sovereign defense contracts are now the strongest validation signal for startups, de-risking technology. Defense-first has become the new dominant strategy for deep-tech founders and investors globally.

At the MSC Munich Security Conference panel “Factories First: who builds Europe’s capability at scale and how startups win,” the message was clear. Europe cannot outsource its security. The challenge is not innovation but industrial architecture. Real capability equals production capacity, procurement efficiency, and scaled delivery. This is about procurement redesign for alliance-scale competition, combining startup speed with prime infrastructure. DefenseTech is now industrial strategy and economic sovereignty for Europe.

Global industrial companies increasingly partner with defense investment funds in Israel as the boundary between defense and civilian technology dissolves. AI, autonomy, advanced materials, and resilient energy are reshaping manufacturing, mobility, and infrastructure. Firms use platforms like the OpImpact Fund to access dual-use innovation early, working with vetted startups, local operators, and regulatory networks. The focus is less on defense budgets and more on de-risking innovation and co-developing IP. Similar models are emerging in life sciences and climate tech through deep-tech funds accelerating dual-use technologies.

At Axis Innovation in New York, Brig. Eden Attias shared a keynote on the global shift in dual-use technology. Commercial capabilities are now moving into defense at speed, driven by scale and cost efficiency rather than traditional spillover. This creates new market access for corporates and industrials, alongside need for operating model that de-risks innovation and accelerates adoption. At OpImpact, we bridge innovators with defense primes enabling real-world deployment globally.

Energy is becoming the new ammunition as defense enters a structural inflection point. A Patriot PAC-3 costs about $4M per intercept, while a laser engagement costs under $20, reshaping deterrence economics. Over the next 15 years, $250-300B is expected to shift toward power infrastructure, semiconductors, and photonics. OpImpact focuses on enabling systems like energy and thermal management that make directed energy scalable. This dual-use shift is driven by defense needs and commercial sectors such as EVs, medical imaging, and green energy.

Our General Partner, BG (Res.) Eden Attias, had the privilege of addressing senior business and investment leaders at the Canada Israel Chamber of Commerce in Toronto this week. His remarks focused on the increasing convergence of defense innovation and commercially driven technologies, and how strategic cross-border collaboration can accelerate scalable impact.

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