A two-day investor and partnering programme in Berlin on 8 and 9 October 2026, run by Tech Tour and co-hosted with Berlin Partner and the Berlin Quantum initiative. Roughly 150 investors, corporate venture arms and quantum and defence-tech founders meet through one-to-one sessions and pitch slots. The 2026 edition is organised around two tracks: quantum technologies, and quantum in defence and security.
Tech Tour Quantum & Defence 2026 is a curated investor and partnering programme held in Berlin on 8 and 9 October 2026. It is organised by Tech Tour, which runs a series of selection-based investment events across Europe, and co-hosted with Berlin Partner, the capital region's economic development agency, and the Berlin Quantum initiative. The format is matchmaking rather than public conference: around 150 investors, corporate venture arms and quantum and defence-tech start-ups and scale-ups are brought together for one-to-one meetings and pitch sessions. Companies presenting are typically at post-seed to Series A stage. The 2026 edition splits its programme into two tracks, one on quantum technologies and one on quantum applied to defence and security.
The distinction matters for anyone budgeting two days in October. Tech Tour does not sell exhibition space or fill an auditorium; it selects a company cohort, invites an investor cohort, and structures the time around scheduled one-to-one meetings and pitch slots. Attendance figures are therefore small by design: roughly 150 people in the room is the product, not a limitation. Founders who arrive expecting keynote programming and a trade floor will find neither, and investors who arrive without having reviewed the company list in advance will get less out of the meeting scheduler than those who did.
The corollary is that stage selectivity is part of the filter. The target profile is post-seed to Series A, which places the event upstream of the growth-equity and infrastructure-financing conversations happening elsewhere on the European quantum calendar, and downstream of university spin-out and pre-seed programmes.
The programme runs on two parallel tracks. Both draw on the same investor pool, which is the structural argument for holding them at the same event rather than as separate dates.
| Track | Scope | Typical company profile |
|---|---|---|
| Quantum technologies | Quantum computing, quantum communications, quantum sensing | Hardware and software start-ups and scale-ups building the underlying technology |
| Quantum in defence and security | Defence capabilities, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure protection | Companies applying quantum and adjacent deep tech to defence and security use cases, including dual-use plays |
The pairing is the editorial choice that defines this event. Quantum communications and post-quantum cryptography sit on both sides of the line, and several of the announced participating organisations (Thales among them) operate across both. For a founder, the practical question is which track your company is being read under, because it changes which investors are routed into your meeting slots.
Announced participating organisations span five distinct categories, which is a useful way to read the guest list before deciding whether to attend.
| Category | Announced organisations |
|---|---|
| Regional and network hosts | Berlin Partner, Berlin Quantum, OpTecBB |
| Research institutions | Fraunhofer HHI |
| Quantum companies | IQM, Multiverse Computing |
| Corporates and corporate venture arms | Thales, Safran Corporate Ventures, Siemens ADA |
| Public funding bodies | European Innovation Council, European Defence Fund |
The presence of both the European Innovation Council and the European Defence Fund alongside private corporate venture arms is the clearest signal of what Tech Tour is assembling here: a room where public non-dilutive funding and private capital are available to the same cohort of companies over the same two days.
The stated thematic scope runs across quantum computing, quantum communications and quantum key distribution, quantum sensing, defence and security applications, post-quantum cryptography, and dual-use deep-tech investment more broadly. Post-quantum cryptography is worth flagging separately: it is the one theme on the list where commercial urgency is already driven by procurement deadlines rather than by hardware maturity, and it is the natural bridge between the two tracks.
Berlin in October places this event in the autumn cluster, and its investor-matchmaking format distinguishes it from the conference-shaped fixtures on the same circuit.
| Event | City | Orientation |
|---|---|---|
| Tech Tour Quantum & Defence 2026 | Berlin | Curated investor matchmaking, quantum and defence dual-use |
| Quantum Infra Summit EU 2026 | Leuven | Investor and industry oriented |
| QBC Summit 2026 | Paris-Saclay | Industry consortium summit, run by the European Quantum Industry Consortium |
Tech Tour also runs a separate defence-tech edition in Paris, so the Berlin date should be read as one node in an organiser series rather than as a standalone franchise. How many editions the Quantum & Defence format has run is not established from public sources; treat it as a newer addition to that series.
Three groups: investors and corporate venture arms looking at quantum and defence-tech deal flow, quantum and defence-tech start-ups and scale-ups at roughly post-seed to Series A raising or seeking corporate partners, and the public funding bodies and regional agencies that co-fund both. It is not designed for suppliers selling into a trade audience.
Both, deliberately. The 2026 edition runs a quantum technologies track (computing, communications, sensing) and a quantum in defence and security track (defence capabilities, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure), sharing one investor pool. Dual-use companies are the intended centre of gravity rather than an edge case.
No. Investors, corporate venture arms and partner organisations attend without presenting. For companies, the selective cohort structure means a place in the pitch programme is not automatic on registration; the practical route is to apply early through the official event page.
Around 150 participants, per the organiser. The format is built for that scale: a larger room would dilute the meeting scheduler, which is the main reason attendees come.
The event is held in Berlin. The specific venue is not disclosed on the official event page as of last verification, and registered attendees should expect location details through the organiser's own communications. Berlin's relevance to the programme is not incidental: Berlin Partner, the Berlin Quantum initiative and the Berlin-Brandenburg optics and photonics network OpTecBB are all co-hosts or announced participants, and Fraunhofer HHI is based in the city.
Tech Tour organises selection-based investment and partnering events across Europe, built around curated company cohorts and invited investor audiences rather than open-attendance conferences. Its programme includes a Paris defence-tech edition alongside this Berlin quantum and defence date. For the 2026 Berlin edition, local co-hosting is handled with Berlin Partner and the Berlin Quantum initiative.
A deal-flow event wearing a conference badge: the point of these two days in Berlin is not what is said on stage but whether European quantum founders and the money now flowing toward defence get introduced to each other at Series A.
Registration runs through the official event page at techtour.com/ttqd26. The published rate as of last verification is a General Pass at EUR 990 excluding VAT. Companies seeking a place in the pitch programme go through a selection process rather than simple ticket purchase, so applying well ahead of the October dates is the practical route. Additional rates for investors, partners or start-up cohort members are not disclosed on the official page.
| Item | Rate |
|---|---|
| General Pass | EUR 990 excluding VAT |
| Other tiers | not disclosed |
The General Pass is EUR 990 excluding VAT. No other public tier is disclosed on the official page; investors and selected companies should confirm terms directly with Tech Tour.
Berlin, Germany. The venue is not disclosed on the official event page at the time of writing.
Two days, 8 and 9 October 2026.
Through Tech Tour's own selection process rather than open registration. The stated target profile is post-seed to Series A quantum and defence-tech start-ups and scale-ups; applications go through the official event page.
| Official website | https://techtour.com/ttqd26/ |
| Registration | https://techtour.com/ttqd26/ |
| Organiser | https://techtour.com |
| Programme | not disclosed |
| not disclosed |