Competing for capital: Estonia’s cleantech sector adapts to rising national security priorities 

[TALLINN, ESTONIA] Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine propelled national security to the top of Europe’s agenda, venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) have increasingly pivoted towards defence technologies, diverting attention from clean technologies. 

VC and PE funding going towards defence tech in the European Union has soared annually since the 2022 invasion, data from market intelligence platform Tracxn showed. 

It climbed over 50 per cent from US$248.1 million in 2022 to US$376.5 million in 2023. It more than doubled to US$763.6 million in 2024, before surging past the billion-dollar mark to US$1.28 billion in 2025.