Stark: Drone Startup on Verge of Billion-Euro Deal – Backlash due to Investor Peter Thiel
Berlin-based defense startup Stark Defence is on the brink of a billion-euro deal with the German Bundeswehr – but the involvement of US tech billionaire Peter Thiel is causing political turbulence. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has now raised concerns – just days before the Bundestag’s budget committee votes on the purchase of combat drones worth up to 2.9 billion euros.
Thiel has invested a double-digit million sum in Stark through his Founders Fund and holds a single-digit percentage stake in the company, which reached a valuation of one billion euros in its latest funding round.
Pistorius wants Thiel’s influence clarified
Pistorius wants to clarify what actual influence Trump supporter Thiel has on Stark Defence. The German foreign minister wants to rule out any interference in the company’s operational business. The Bundeswehr plans to procure kamikaze drones of the “Virtus” type from Stark as well as the HX-2 model from Munich competitor Helsing. While Stark’s contract initially covers 269 million euros and can grow to up to 2.86 billion euros, Helsing’s volume is up to 1.46 billion euros.
Greens demand investor exit
Criticism is particularly sharp from the Greens. Sebastian Schäfer, defense specialist for the Greens, told the Financial Times: “I don’t want to rely on shareholders that want to end our European democracies.” He is calling on Stark to find another investor to take over Thiel’s stake.
Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, is known for his libertarian and right-conservative positions, his proximity to Donald Trump – whom he supported in 2016 with 1.25 million dollars in his candidacy – and his criticism of liberal democracies. Stark’s investors also include the CIA-linked venture capital fund In-Q-Tel and Döpfner Capital, founded by Moritz Döpfner, who previously worked for Thiel.
Stark Defence sees no conflict
Stark Defence rejects the concerns and emphasizes that Thiel has “no information rights relating to our products or business operations.” The company stated: “Any transfer of technical details concerning our products is subject to German export control regulations and would require prior approval by the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control.” According to Stark, the stake also does not trigger a review under German foreign trade law, since Thiel holds neither special voting rights nor a blocking minority.
The planned procurement is intended to bring Germany up to international standards in combat drones – an area in which the Bundeswehr has lagged behind other nations for years. Now, of all things, a US investor is standing in the way, while Europe is trying to reduce its dependence on American technology.
