Porsche Holding invests money in military start-ups

Porsche Automobil Holding SE is becoming a venture capitalist for the military sector. The holding company, which is majority-owned by the Porsche-Piëch family, will establish a corresponding platform for “investments in up-and-coming technology companies in the defense sector,” in which other investors are to participate – in particular other European billionaire families.

“In the portfolio segment, we want to increase our involvement in the defense and defense-related area without changing our fundamental focus on mobility and industrial technology,” explains Hans Dieter Pötsch, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche SE. With 31.9 percent of the shares, the company is by far the largest shareholder of Volkswagen AG. In addition, Porsche AG directly holds 12.5 percent of the car manufacturer Porsche. A good three-quarters of this is owned by Volkswagen, meaning that Porsche SE's indirect shareholding in Porsche AG is higher.

According to the press release, the military investments will focus on technical areas such as satellite surveillance, reconnaissance and sensor systems, IT security or logistics and supply systems. To this end, the Porsche-Piëchs would like to attract other investment companies backed by exceptionally wealthy European families. They can look forward to an invitation to a "defense day" in the near future.

Deutsche Telekom to join in

According to Bloomberg Law, which cites insiders, Deutsche Telekom is also set to participate. A total of half a billion euros in venture capital is planned. Incidentally, the area is not entirely new for the Porsche holding company: it already has stakes in providers of dual-use technology, including Isar Aerospace and Quantum Systems.

The reason for the expanded strategy is said to be Russia's invasion of Ukraine, increasing tensions in Asia, and the rolling attacks on critical infrastructure (Kritis). The Porsche-Piëch family wants to help defend “our values, democracy, and freedom.”

Half-year report

The financial results of the Porsche holding company reported on Wednesday are, unsurprisingly, dominated by the results of the major shareholdings: Volkswagen and Porsche. The result from equity-accounted investments in the first half of 2025 fell by almost 80 percent to 466 million euros compared to the same period in 2024. This includes an impairment of the investment in Porsche AG of -872 million euros, only slightly offset by a revaluation of the Volkswagen shares in the amount of 55 million euros.

The holding company's operating expenses rose from 16 to 19 million euros. The financial loss increased by a good six percent to 132 million euros. After a net tax credit of one million euros in the first half of the previous year, the holding company had to set aside 15 million euros for taxes this time. This leaves a total profit after tax of 300 million euros, a decrease of 86 percent.

In the first half of the year, Porsche SE reduced its debt by 222 million euro to 4.938 billion euro. In addition, it was able to shift 1.5 billion euros in liabilities to newly issued, lower-interest promissory bills.

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