Czech Fund Luminova Ventures Opens Investor Access to Dual-Use Technologies for Defense and Business

A new investment fund, Luminova Ventures, is being established in the Czech Republic with a focus on supporting dual-use and deep-tech technologies in defense, security, and societal resilience. The fund is now open to investors and addresses a critical gap in the European market: the lack of capital available to technology companies operating in the defense and security sector, which are often rejected by traditional banks and financial institutions.

While strategic debates about Europe’s security are intensifying, funding for innovation in this area has long lagged behind. A fund-based structure represents a functional and regulatorily compliant way to channel these investments—while enabling investors to participate in the growth of technologies with tangible societal and economic impact.

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The Investments Europe Needs

According to the European Defence Agency, defense spending in the European Union reached approximately EUR 343 billion in 2024, representing a 19% year-on-year increase and roughly 1.9% of EU GDP.

Investments in defense capabilities, research, and development are growing even more rapidly. The European Commission reports that investment in defense technologies in the EU increased by 42% year-on-year in 2024, with further significant growth expected in the coming years.

“Europe is facing a fundamental question today: how quickly can political decisions on security be translated into real technological capabilities. Without capital, that simply won’t happen,”
says Olga Chabr Grillová, General Partner at Luminova Ventures.

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Dual-Use Technologies: Defense and the Economy

Luminova Ventures focuses on dual-use technologies—solutions that have defense and security applications while also being commercially viable in civilian markets. These include data and intelligence technologies, cybersecurity, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and post-quantum cryptography.

“Dual-use is not a compromise. It’s a way to build technologies that are viable, scalable, and strategically essential at the same time,”
adds Jan Balatka, General Partner responsible for technology and AI.

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A Czech Fund with International Reach

Luminova Ventures is rooted in the Czech Republic but built with global ambition. The fund is led by a balanced team of General Partners combining experience in private capital, defense, business, technology development, and company scaling.

The team is further supported by an international Advisory Board composed of former generals and senior defense sector leaders, enabling the fund to connect technological innovation with the real-world needs of security institutions.

“Our strength lies in combining three worlds—capital, defense, and technology. In the Czech context, this is still rare, but it is exactly what is needed today,”
says Lukáš Šebesta, General Partner focused on the defense sector.

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From Ideas to Deployment

Luminova Ventures is already working with a pre-selected portfolio of technology companies and is actively building an international investment strategy across Europe, Israel, and the United States.

The fund’s objective is to identify and support early-stage technologies with the potential to become key building blocks of future security infrastructure—while also leveraging Semantic Visions’ data and intelligence capabilities to identify emerging trends and early market signals.

“Real value is not created at the prototype stage, but when a technology becomes an industry standard. That is the phase we focus on,”
says Diana Rádl Rogerová, General Partner responsible for business development and scaling.