Porsche AG and Volkswagen AG’s controlling family is launching a fund to invest in the defense industry, aiming to benefit from Europe’s rising military budgets.
Porsche Automobil Holding SE – the holding company for the Porsche-Piëch billionaire family, said Wednesday it’s teaming up with unnamed partners to back defense startups, dropping its earlier rule that projects must also have civilian uses.
“Our aim is to increase our involvement in the defense and defense-related sectors while maintaining our core focus on mobility and industrial technology,” Chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch said.
The move comes as Europe prepares to release hundreds of billions of euros for defense and infrastructure. In March, Porsche SE said it was weighing a third long-term anchor investment in defense or infrastructure, in addition to its stakes in VW and Porsche.
Separately from the new fund, Porsche SE is actively assessing potential defense investments, focusing on areas such as satellite surveillance, reconnaissance and sensor systems, cybersecurity, and logistics and supply chain solutions.
