Olivia Nestius, CEO at Graphmatech, and Anna Lena Hohmann, Senior Manager at PwC discuss at the Berlin Security Conference 2025 how defence organisations, public authorities and industry can work more effectively with startups. Nestius stresses the importance of joint development programmes that define capability goals early, enable continuous dialogue and lead to real opportunities for scaling and commercialisation. Hohmann outlines three key enablers: transparent and pragmatic access points into the defence ecosystem, early testing of prototypes with structured feedback from military and industry, and dedicated guidance to navigate regulatory, legal and IP requirements. Both emphasise that success should ultimately be measured by tangible contributions to European security and defence capabilities, not by valuation alone.