Berlin, 16 October 2025
STARK, one of Europe’s fastest-growing defence technology companies, announced today the appointment of Uwe Horstmann as their Chief Executive Officer.
Horstmann, a driving force behind STARK’s creation and growth, brings nearly two decades of experience in scaling early ventures and a deep understanding of defence and security. Under Horstmann’s leadership, STARK will rapidly expand its production capacity, enter new product categories including longer ranges, and forge global partnerships to lead the company into its next phase of growth and delivery.
“I have helped build hundreds of companies across Europe—I have never seen anything like STARK before,” said Uwe Horstmann, CEO of STARK. “The speed, the talent, and the dedication to protect Europe make this company unique. It is clear to me that this is the right team, the right mission, and the right moment.”
In little over a year, STARK has deployed its flagship loitering munition Virtus in Ukraine, including in complex reconnaissance-strike missions, and successfully demonstrated its unmanned surface vessel Vanta at NATO’s REPMUS exercise. All systems are controlled using STARK’s AI-enabled command and control software Minerva, which coordinates and executes unmanned systems across land, air and sea domains. “What STARK has achieved in just 18 months is only the beginning. Europe’s security depends on those who can deliver and that’s exactly what STARK will continue to do,” said Horstmann.
Earlier this year, STARK invested in thousands of warheads to ensure delivery of a fully certified European loitering munition before 2027, a move that demonstrates the company’s scale and intent. Alongside offices in Germany and Ukraine the company recently announced its first production facility in the UK to meet growing demand.
STARK is backed by a coalition of global and European investors. Led through two funding rounds by Sequoia Capital, the company is also supported by the NATO Innovation Fund, Project A, and In-Q-Tel.
As co-founder of Project A, Europe’s most active defence-tech seed backer, Horstmann brings deep expertise and a strategic perspective to STARK. He will remain active in Project A’s investment activities ensuring STARK's strong ties to Europe’s venture ecosystem.
Luciana Lixandru, Partner at Sequoia Capital, said:
“Advances in AI, decades of underinvestment, and a changing geopolitical landscape mean there is a clear, urgent ‘why now’ for a modern defence company in Europe. What Uwe and the team at STARK are building is not only reshaping the defence sector but strengthening Europe’s position on the world stage.”
John Ridge, Chief Adoption Officer of NATO Innovation Fund, said:
“The NATO Innovation Fund was set up to support mission-driven innovators across the Alliance, who are building technologies that can protect the Allies both today and in the future. STARK's breakthrough capabilities and commitment to innovating, with the rapidly-evolving needs of the Alliance's militaries in mind, positions the company to advance defence and deterrence within NATO.”
Thies Sander, General Partner at Project A, said:
“STARK represents the most direct expression of Project A’s European Resilience thesis. We are proud to support Uwe and STARK in their critical mission to advance defence technology in Europe and deliver credible deterrence for our Allies.”
