Deep Tech Momentum

History and growth

Deep Tech Momentum was founded as a focused European platform to fill a gap between large-format technology trade fairs and niche sector-specific investor conferences. Its annual presence in Berlin leverages the German capital's role as one of Europe's largest deep tech startup ecosystems. The event grew rapidly in scale and ambition, shifting from a standard conference format to a curated marketplace model centred on pre-arranged one-to-one meetings between senior decision-makers. By 2026, DTM had established itself as an invite-only gathering generating tens of thousands of curated meetings between corporate innovation leaders, founders, and investors in a two-day format. In 2026, DTM partnered with Deep Tech Berlin to co-host the inaugural Deep Tech Award, presented on 20 May 2026 at Wilhelm Studios. ESA (European Space Agency) Commercialisation Gateway recognises DTM as an official space-sector event.

The 2026 edition: defence goes mainstream on the agenda

DTM26, held 20-21 May 2026, featured a prominent defence and dual-use track as a fully developed market vertical, reflecting the surge in European rearmament spending and the growing role of non-traditional technology suppliers in defence procurement. The defence segment covers drone and aerial defence, deep and precision strike technologies, and AI applications for armed forces and prime contractors. The Guardian Program – a dedicated track connecting deep tech companies with defence procurement stakeholders – was a central feature. Speakers included Dovile Sakaliene (former Minister of Defence of Lithuania, MP on the National Security and Defence Committee), Michel Van Strythem (Belgian Defence Headquarters), and Martin Veirum (Danish Ministry of Defence). The event attracted 3,000+ total attendees and the top 300 senior corporate innovation leaders across all verticals.

Where Deep Tech Momentum sits in the European innovation calendar

Deep Tech Momentum occupies a distinctive position in the spring calendar, co-located with other Berlin deep tech week events in May, creating a cluster effect that concentrates senior decision-makers in Berlin for a dense two-day window. It is distinct from mainstream technology conferences (Web Summit, Slush, VivaTech) in being explicitly invite-only and commercially focused on deep tech deals rather than broad consumer or enterprise technology. Within the defence and dual-use innovation circuit, DTM complements dedicated defence exhibitions (Eurosatory, DSEI, DEFEA) by attracting non-traditional suppliers – startups and scaleups – rather than established prime contractors. For European deep tech founders with defence relevance, DTM is increasingly the fastest route to corporate and government procurement conversations.

Who attends Deep Tech Momentum

DTM's audience is deliberately curated and invite-only. The top 300 senior corporate innovation leaders across energy, defence, manufacturing, space, AI, and advanced materials form the core corporate delegation. Investors represented include leading European and transatlantic venture capital firms active in deep tech. Founders attending are at scaleup or commercially-ready stage. Government representation includes defence ministry officials, national innovation agency leaders, and senior policy-makers. The event excludes general-interest technology audiences and concentrates on participants capable of making partnership, procurement, or investment decisions at the meeting.

What the Deep Tech Momentum format includes

DTM is structured as a curated marketplace rather than a traditional conference. The centrepiece is a large volume of pre-arranged one-to-one meetings between corporate innovation leaders, founders, and investors, facilitated through the organiser's matching and scheduling platform. Panel discussions and keynote sessions address sectoral themes (energy transition, AI, defence, space, advanced materials) and strategic European topics (technological sovereignty, competitiveness, NATO procurement reform). The Guardian Program provides a structured pathway for deep tech companies seeking engagement with defence and security procurement stakeholders. The Deep Tech Award (introduced 2026) recognises outstanding deep tech companies from the Berlin ecosystem. An "All Programs" track covers all seven market verticals.

What Deep Tech Momentum covers

Core market verticals:

• Energy: decarbonisation, grid infrastructure, energy storage
• Defence: drone and aerial defence, deep and precision strike, AI for armed forces, dual-use technologies for primes and SMBs
• Manufacturing and Robotics: advanced automation, industrial processes
• Space: commercial space systems, satellite technologies
• Advanced Materials: novel materials with defence and industrial applications
• High-Performance Computing: quantum-resistant security, low-latency systems, finance and telecom applications
• AI: applied artificial intelligence across all verticals

The 2026 edition in numbers (organiser-declared)

The venue: Wilhelm Studios Berlin

Wilhelm Studios is a creative and event venue in Berlin. The full street address is not publicly disclosed by the organiser in available materials. The venue has an industrial-loft character suited to the immersive marketplace format DTM employs. Berlin is served by Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), with a direct S-Bahn (S9 or S45) connection to central Berlin in approximately 30 minutes. The city's public transport network connects all major areas efficiently.

The organiser: Deep Tech Momentum GmbH

Deep Tech Momentum GmbH is a Berlin-based event company specialising in the European deep tech ecosystem. Its partner network includes corporate entities across all seven sectoral verticals, a curated investor community, and formal partnerships with Deep Tech Berlin (co-organiser of the Deep Tech Award) and the European Space Agency Commercialisation Gateway. The company positions DTM as the primary annual commercial marketplace for the European deep tech community and is expanding toward greater meeting density and sectoral depth in DTM27.

First time at Deep Tech Momentum? How to prepare

• Apply early and complete your profile in full detail. The quality of your pre-arranged meeting schedule depends directly on the depth of your application. Specify your commercial objectives, target sectors, deal types (partnership, investment, customer), and existing traction clearly. Vague profiles result in poor meeting matches.
• Study the speaker list before arrival. DTM publishes its speaker roster at deeptech.build/speaker26. Identify the ten to fifteen people most relevant to your goals and send LinkedIn connection requests before the event to warm up conversations before you meet in person.
• Prepare a concise commercial narrative, not a slide deck. DTM's culture is peer-to-peer conversation. Senior corporate leaders and investors respond better to a sharp two-minute problem-solution-traction story than to a lengthy presentation. Bring a digital one-pager as a leave-behind.
• Apply to the Guardian Program if your technology has defence relevance. If your company operates in a dual-use or pure-defence domain, apply to the Guardian Program track in advance. It gives structured access to ministry and prime-contractor decision-makers who do not attend general investor-founder sessions.
• Block both days fully in your calendar. The two-day format compresses an extraordinary density of senior meetings. Arrive the evening before DTM starts and do not plan travel out of Berlin until the evening of day two. Satellite dinners and evening gatherings on day one are part of the deal flow.