During a 24 -hour swing across Copenhagen last month, Eric Salsinger met engineers who manufacture marine drones and developers of war planning programs and NATO advisor. He recently visited London for dinner with a senior British intelligence official and will soon go to the Arctic to know the techniques that could deal with maximum climates.
The packed schedule may seem more common for Mr. Slesinger in his previous job as a CIA officer. But now the 35 -year -old was the high demand, as he photographed the espionage agency credit papers in a profession as a project assistant that focuses on the field of surprisingly relevant national defense and national security.
“All this happens quickly warp,” said Mr. Slesiner, who has supported eight defense companies and negotiated with many other companies.
like President Trump The future of the relationship through the Atlantic Ocean is placed as a question, governments all over Europe have Specific plans to spend Hundreds of billions of euros on weapons, missile defense programs, satellite systems and other technologies to rebuild their armies. Technicians, businessmen and investors are racing to take advantage of the spending boom by creating new startups.
A little attention four years ago when Mr. Slesinger moved to Madrid with the idea that Europe will need to increase defense spending significantly because American military protection cannot be considered a minor. Now its predictions look innocent. After the inauguration of Mr. Trump, who followed his defeat to Vice President Kamala Harris in the November elections, he called on his administration members.PityAnd Mouches Military for the United States.
“Whether Trump, Harris or anyone else won, the truth would have remained that there is an infliction of the technology that should happen in Europe,” said Mr. Slesinger while walking between meetings in Copenhagen last month. “It may be accelerated in certain ways, but this was a long time.”
Mr. Slesinger is now in an unusual position for the former US intelligence officer trying to benefit from the planned military transformation in Europe. The individual investment capital company, 201, completes a $ 22 million fund to invest in young startups at the intersection of national security.
The initial investments of Mr. Slesiner include a marine drone company in Sweden, a manufacturer of manufacturing technology in Britain, an artificial intelligence company in Greece and start operating a non -audio vehicle in Germany.
The United States has a long tradition in investing in defense-Silicon Valley partially started funding the Pentagon-has witnessed a rise in many startups that focus on military, such as Balnter and Andol. Europe has achieved less successes, in part because defense companies were so immoral that many investors there refused to put money behind them.
Chris Okunor, a partner in the NATO Fund for Innovation, a Euro Technology Fund 1 billion euros.
The NATO Fund is the largest financial supporter of Mr. Slesinger. Mr. Okonor said that the national security experience of Mr. Selersger made it ideal for identifying companies with technology that can win government contracts.
“He will end up playing a decisive role,” said Mr. Okonor.
Mr. Slesiner grew up outside Washington, DC, and attended Stanford. Craig Millarwi, co -director of the Product Laboratory at Stanford University, said where students can workshop workshops.
While many colleagues in Stanford have explored jobs with Apple or Google, he looked at another place. “I am going to join the CIA.” This has not happened before or since then. “
He said that Mr. Slesinger is Cagey for his five and a half years of work at the CIA, but with his engineering background, he was working among more characters that resemble Q from James Bond films, where the obsessed in the background works to solve technical problems for intelligence employees in this field.
He said: “Imagine to be a student, and a kind of student engineer who studys a lot, then you can go in this place where you have the ability to similar to a Santa workshop.” “Really difficult intelligence problems, they are Narley, and she feels a real responsibility for doing something to solve the problem“
In 2019, Mr. Slesiner fell from the agency to the Harvard Business College. He also spent a summer working in the CIA’s investment capital fund.
Almost this time, it became installed on the idea that Europe should rebuild armies after a The generation of low investment. The United States spent about 880 billion dollars in defense in 2024, more than twice that other countries spend in NATO.
With the United States focusing on China, Mr. Slesinger was convinced that he would see the end of the alleged peace profits, which allowed European countries to spend more on social services and pensions since World War II, instead of tanks and combat aircraft.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 its thesis crystallized. Then the European Defense Investors Network, which now includes about 125 investors, businessmen and policymakers. Last year, 201 projects started.
Initially, he struggled to collect funding because many investors refused to support military technologies. But he ultimately raised money from NATO and found consultants including Eileen Tangal, who used to oversee the London office in Q-Tel; David Oliveic, General partner at Silicon Venly Venture Andressen Horowitz; And the author Sebastian Malaby.
Over the past 12 months, Mr. Slesinger, who also has an Italian passport from his family’s roots there, has traveled to 15 countries. On a modern trip to the Arctic, he installed a snow car into a remote area to be considered to test new energy sources and telecommunications technology. In Switzerland, he toured the strongest speed of particles in the world.
In February, Mr. Slesinger was in Germany to attend the Munich Conference when the Vice President JD Vance handed over Rhetoric Criticism of Europe. Within weeks, Germany, France, Britain and other European countries pledged to increase military spending significantly that it is no longer able to rely on the United States as a reliable ally.
“It has looked like a change in the sea,” said Mr. Slesiner, who watched the speech of Mr. Vans from a laptop in a nearby hotel. “You can feel it while speaking.”
How much new spending will reach startups is unclear. Missiles, ammunition and combat aircraft are likely to be higher priorities than technology from small, non -tested companies.
Mr. Slesinger said that it will take years to measure success, but he expects to spend his $ 22 million fund in the next two years and has already begun to think about increasing a greater amount. In the past few months, it has been glowing with European entrepreneurs who suddenly interested in making military technology.
For everyone who meets in Europe, there is one annoying question: Is it no longer working in the CIA?
“I’m really outside!” He said.
