# 84 - Building Europe's Defense Tech, One Hackathon at a Time, Benjamin Wolba Co-Founder of EDTH

This episode is part of our special series during the Munich Security Conference, where we explore the entrepreneurial realities behind defense and dual-use innovation.

We speak with Benjamin Wolba, co-founder of the EuropeanDefense Tech Hub .

Benjamin co-created what has become Europe's largest network of defense tech hackathons — bringing together engineers, students, researchers, and early-stage founders across cities including Munich, Berlin, Copenhagen, Paris, London, and more importantly, Lvyv and Kyiv.

Each event gives participants 48 hours to prototype real solutions to challenges sourced directly from frontline partners in Ukraine and NATO allies, with the explicit goal of continuing toward deployment after the weekend ends.

What started as a single event with 150 participants has grown into a movement on track to run over twenty hackathons in 2025 alone, with each edition producing ten to twelvestartups.

Together, we explore what it takes to build an efficient grassroots innovation movement in defense, how hackathons can serve as an on-ramp for civilian technologists entering the sector, and what Benjamin has learned about the gap between ideation and real battlefield deployment — and how to close it.

And for those that want to attend the Demo Day on Sunday in Munich, the link is here.