€15m · Series A · Cybersecurity, Defence · Munich, Germany
Project Q, the European defence-technology company building integration infrastructure for security organisations, has raised €15m in Series A funding. Expeditions led the round, existing investor Project A increased its investment, and HENSOLDT and Heliad joined. The capital will primarily fund further development of HYDRIS, Project Q's open-source integration and orchestration platform.
The integration layer is the product
Armed forces and security agencies do not lack sensors, unmanned systems or command software. The harder problem is connecting technologies bought from different vendors and generations into one operating environment. HYDRIS is designed as that layer, linking commercial products, data sources and legacy systems through open standards and a plugin-based architecture.
The platform combines data processing, edge computing and distributed operations so customers can assemble mission environments without replacing every existing system. Project Q says this reduces integration effort and vendor dependence while allowing agencies to keep control of their software, systems and data.
That architecture makes interoperability the commercial mechanism. A customer can add a new sensor or unmanned capability more quickly if it connects through a common layer, while each successful integration can expand the range of systems supported by the platform. The value therefore grows with the breadth and reliability of the ecosystem, not only with features in HYDRIS itself.
Open source meets defence assurance
Open source can support technological sovereignty by making interfaces inspectable and reducing dependence on a single proprietary vendor. In defence, however, openness does not remove the need for security assurance, controlled deployments and dependable performance across disconnected and contested environments.
Project Q reports that HYDRIS was validated at NATO CWIX 2026 by integrating legacy chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear sensors into an end-to-end sensor-to-decider chain. That is a company-reported exercise outcome rather than an independent procurement result, but it shows the practical test the Series A is meant to extend: connecting systems that were not designed to work together.
All of the round's disclosed investors are European. Project Q frames that ownership alongside its product mission, while lead investor Expeditions argues that fragmented communication systems across European forces create the need for a common interoperability layer. The financing gives Project Q capacity to deepen the platform; adoption will still depend on passing security reviews and turning exercises and partnerships into repeatable deployments across national procurement systems.
Explore this theme
Fixing Fragmentation: How Unified Regulation Can Unlock European Innovation — EUVC · 3 December 2025. Its proposal for cross-border procurement passporting in defence and cybersecurity addresses the market-side fragmentation that Project Q's technical interoperability layer cannot solve alone.
Sources checked:
Project Q funding announcement · Project Q HYDRIS release · Heliad · Tech.eu Funding Explorer
