Martin Davis Brings Growth-Stage Experience to Tech Horizons’ Defence-Tech Strategy

• Martin Davis of Molten Ventures joins Tech Horizons’ Investment Committee while continuing his work with EDT Ventures
• His experience will support investment decisions, portfolio growth, financing strategies, and international investor connections
• Tech Horizons will maintain its existing investment strategy across NATO and allied countries

Tech Horizons, the Czech well-known Czech VC fund (invested in Occam Industries, among others) focused on defence, security and resilience technologies, has appointed former Molten Ventures CEO Martin Davis to its Investment Committee. Mr Davis joins the committee while continuing his work with EDT Ventures, the later-stage European dual-use fund he co-founded, bringing a combination of venture capital leadership and military experience to the role. The appointment is intended to strengthen Tech Horizons’ existing investment strategy as it deploys its EUR 100M fund across NATO member states and allied countries.

The two funds offer complementary approaches to technology investment, according to Mr Davis, with differences in both investment stage and geographic focus. Tech Horizons concentrates on earlier-stage, primarily single-use defence and security technologies with a global investment footprint, while EDT focuses on later-stage dual-use businesses in Europe.

‘Already I am finding portfolio companies more suited to one strategy than the other,’ the investor shares, describing how the two platforms can serve different companies rather than compete for the same opportunities.

Bridging Military Experience and Venture Capital

Mr Davis led Molten Ventures from 2019 to 2024, overseeing its European VC business through changing market conditions, and has also held senior roles across asset management and technology businesses. Before entering finance, he served for eleven years in the British Army, including as an officer in the Royal Irish Rangers. He sees the combination as particularly relevant now, having watched several Molten portfolio companies pivot toward national security and defence over the past three to five years.

‘I felt that my background of Venture plus military service means I can help to spot and develop these companies as they scale,’ Mr Davis explains. He argues that defence and national security investing requires specialist access and knowledge, even as mainstream investors increasingly explore the sector. In his view, specialist funds are positioned to identify opportunities that investors without those relationships or an understanding of end-user requirements may find harder to assess.

For Tech Horizons, Mr Davis’s appointment adds experience in managing a large European venture platform, supporting companies through growth and understanding the operational realities of defence markets. Tech Horizons’ partner Stanislav Kuba points to Mr Davis’s leadership at Molten Ventures, including its move to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and entry into the FTSE 250, as well as the acquisition of Forward Partners and multiple secondary portfolio investments. According to Mr Kuba, this background is particularly relevant as defence technology attracts more capital and investors must remain disciplined on valuations and follow-on financing.

Mr Davis will participate in evaluating new investments and follow-on decisions, while helping portfolio companies prepare for larger funding rounds, connect with British and international co-investors, and plan exit routes earlier in their development. Mr Kuba expects the investor committee member’s experience to be particularly useful for capital-intensive deep-tech companies working in space, autonomy and robotics, AI, and cyber security. His previous investment experience includes Finnish satellite company ICEYE, which illustrates the type of technically complex business that can require substantial capital and international market access as it grows.

Balancing Industrial Partnerships and Investor Priorities

Tech Horizons’ model combines VC expertise with the industrial capabilities of CSG, a defence and security group that supports the fund as both an investor and an industrial partner. Mr Davis sees value in giving a specialist venture fund close access to an industrial company operating in the same sector, while acknowledging that the two sides may not always have identical priorities.

‘Good communication and transparency is the best way to deal with this,’ Mr Davis points out, drawing a parallel with his previous role, where he balanced private-market investment decisions with the expectations of public-market investors.

Mr Kuba believes that the new investor committee member can help bridge those perspectives because he understands both portfolio construction and the requirements of defence end users. His military background complements CSG’s industrial expertise, while his venture experience adds a perspective on financing, company development and returns. Kuba emphasizes that the appointment is intended primarily to improve execution of the current strategy, rather than change the fund’s investment stages, geographic scope or sector focus. For Mr Davis, in turn, the ultimate test of an Investment Committee is the quality of its decisions over time, particularly when it must judge opportunities with incomplete information.

‘Success for any Investment Committee is to make more good decisions than poor ones,’ he remarks, stressing the importance of a clear investment thesis and disciplined execution. He also cautions against allowing process to eliminate the willingness to take risks, adding that the courage to back a well-founded conviction can be what turns an unusual opportunity into an exceptional return.

Building a Long-Term Defence Technology Portfolio

The appointment comes as Tech Horizons seeks to build a long-term investment record in a sector where the need for technological innovation is drawing increasing attention from investors and governments. The fund’s existing mandate covers early-stage defence, security and resilience technologies across NATO and allied countries, while CSG’s industrial involvement is designed to help portfolio companies move toward real-world deployment.

For founders and co-investors, Mr Kuba concludes, the immediate change is a more experienced Investment Committee and a stronger network behind the portfolio, with a larger successor fund remaining a potential next step if the strategy delivers results.

‘Europe needs investors who understand both venture returns and security realities. Martin brings exactly that combination. We are delighted to welcome him to the Investment Committee as we continue backing founders building defence, security, and resilience technologies across NATO and allied countries,’ Tech Horizons’ partner Petr Stoniš summarizes.