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- 🚨 10 Hackathons In—And We Keep Going
🚨 10 Hackathons In—And We Keep Going
Fostering Defense Innovation for European Sovereignty
Benjamin Wolba
June 17, 2025
Spring 2025 was intense and full of momentum.
EDTH started as a few individual hackathons and has grown into a pan-European network for defense innovation.
We organized seven hackathons, including one in Lviv, Ukraine, bringing our total to ten hackathons, engaging over a thousand builders and growing our alumni network to 40–50 startups.
Thank you to everyone who joined, supported, and helped shape real defense innovation across Europe! Let’s keep building!
🇬🇧 Sheffield: We Are Waiting!
We’re proud to announce our first European Defense Tech Hackathon in the UK!
Join us in Sheffield, July 18–20, for a 42-hour sprint of rapid prototyping and collaboration. This event is co-organized with Atuin Ventures, Inflection, DroneAid Collective, and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
🚀 IDA Bootcamp 2025 Is On!
IDA Bootcamp 2025 focuses on space and the protection of critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. Challenges addressing the real needs of the military and defense industry are formulated by Polski Fundusz Rozwoju S.A. (PFR) in collaboration with PFR Ventures, Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej, Geospatial Intelligence and Satellite Services Agency, Maritime Special Forces, Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa S.A., WB GROUP, ICEYE, and Palantir Technologies.
🗓️ Apply by June 22, 2025
🌐 startup.pfr.pl/program/ida
Info webinars:
📅 The webinar will take place on June 17, 2025, at 11:00 AM – Register here
If you're developing innovations that can be easily adapted to the military sector and want to test your solution in near-real conditions while receiving feedback from experts in the military, industry, and investment funds, IDA Bootcamp is for you!
🛰️ Upcoming Hackathons Across Europe
📍 Gothenburg, Sweden
🗓️ August 29 – 31, 2025
Join 100+ hackers from across Europe to build defense tech in the Nordics!
📍 Marseille, France
🗓️ September 5 – 7, 2025
Join 100+ hackers from across Europe to co-create defense innovations.
📍 London, UK
🗓️ September 25 – 28, 2025
Join 200+ hackers from across Europe for one of our 66-hour flagship hackathons!
🌱 More Meetups This Summer
We have two meetups coming up—this week and mid-July. If you would like to give a talk (ca 15-20 minutes) or pitch your defense tech project (ca 3 minutes), please reach out to us 🤗
🇩🇪 European Defense Tech Meetup (with Atlantic Labs)
🗓️ Thursday, June 19 (18:00–21:00 CEST)
📍 Berlin, Germany
Join founders, engineers, and innovators building defense & dual-use technologies in Europe.
🇩🇪 European Defense Tech Meetup (with Tripleye)
🗓️ Thursday, July 10 (18:00–21:00 CEST)
📍 Berlin, Germany
Join founders, engineers, and innovators building defense & dual-use technologies in Europe.
🇨🇿 10th European Defense Tech Hackathon Is a Wrap — Hosted as Part of Prague Defense Tech Week
150+ engineers, founders, and defense experts from across Europe and beyond came together to prototype and validate tech in just 42 hours during our Hackathon as a part of Prague Defense Tech Week.
💥 Lviv Hackathon: Building Defense Tech On The Ground
May 22–25, the 3rd Assault Brigade (3AB), AB3 TECH, European Defense Tech Hub, and Women in Defense Tech co-hosted the first European Defense Tech Hackathon in Ukraine, gathering 230+ participants from around the world in Lviv.
🛡️ Munich Hackathon: Defense Systems Hack
Our third Defense Tech hackathon in Munich, from 30 May to 1 June, brought together over 300 builders, industry leaders, and military experts to create 30 unique defense tech projects in just one weekend.
📰 In the Press
Our recent hackathons and growing defense tech movement are gaining international attention:
Resilience Media: Dispatches from Kyiv and Lviv: Ukraine’s European Integration by Other Means
Wirtschaftswoche (German): Ein ganzes Wochenende lang tüftelten junge Forschende beim „Munich Defense Systems Hack“ an Verteidigungstechnologien – mit im Gepäck: nicht nur Laptops, sondern auch moralische Bedenken
🎥 How Europe’s Startups Innovate for the Ukrainian War – Video From Andreas Klinger
“No press releases. Just raw access to the people shaping the future of European defense.“