HENSOLDT invests in Project Q and strengthens the partnership

HENSOLDT has participated in the funding round for the European defence tech company Project Q. The round was led by the Polish venture capital investor Expeditions Fund; Project A and Heliad also participated. With this investment, HENSOLDT is further expanding its existing strategic collaboration with Project Q and strengthening its activities in the field of software-defined defence and multi-domain integration. The parties have agreed not to disclose the amount of the investment.

Project Q develops open software solutions that enable sensors, unmanned systems, command and mission systems, and other capabilities from different manufacturers to be securely interconnected and orchestrated. The aim of the partnership is to combine Project Q’s open-source solution, HYDRIS, with HENSOLDT’s software-centred integration approach. Whilst HENSOLDT contributes its sensor technology, AI and edge technologies, as well as its MDOcore integration platform, Project Q complements these with HYDRIS, further edge and mesh applications, and its own acoustic and seismic sensor solutions.

With this investment, HENSOLDT is reinforcing its role as a bridge-builder between the established defence industry and start-ups. The company offers young European defence tech companies access to its programmes, platforms and procurement structures, thereby accelerating the path from innovation to operational capability. The investment forms part of the company’s strategy to further develop software-defined defence capabilities in collaboration with European partners and to strengthen HENSOLDT’s position as a neo-systems house.

Christian Schmidt, Chief Strategy Officer at HENSOLDT, says: “HENSOLDT is actively shaping the defence ecosystem of tomorrow – through strategic partnerships and selected start-up investments. We combine the innovative strength of young companies such as Project Q with our systems expertise and global market access. This investment is a clear commitment to a cooperative systems architecture that strengthens Europe’s technological sovereignty.”

Leonard Wessendorf, CEO and co-founder of Project Q, adds: “The collaboration with HENSOLDT demonstrates how the strengths of established systems integrators and modern defence tech companies complement each other effectively. Together, we are creating the conditions to bring existing and new capabilities together in an interoperable and software-centred way.”