Europe is conscious of the need to invest in defense, and so is European VCs. However, due to the painful history of the Soviet occupation, Lithuania did not wait to celebrate its third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and to commit between 5% and 6% of its GDP to a military spending and funding defense startup.
Coinbest Capital, a sovereign VC fund in Lithuania, is a pioneer in that respect and is an outlier even when it does not require private use cases. “We were the first in the area [to be] “We are committed to providing a range of services to our customers,” said Viktorija Trimbel, managing partner since February 2023.
Unlike many Lithuanians, Trim Bell is not tall at all. But her lack of basketball potential makes up for her energy and relentlessness, especially when it comes to advocating for innovation in defence technology to enhance security in Europe.
Unmanned Defense Systems (UDS), a Vilnius-based company focused on “kill chain” optimization, has received Coinvest's biggest investment in its domain, but that's not the only one. According to Trimbel, the Evergreen Fund has invested around 6.8 million euros (approximately $7.37 million) in aerospace, defense and dual-use startups since 2023.
That amount may not be very impressive compared to the overflowing billion-dollar rounds of US defense tech companies. It's about urging people to do you in this small Baltic country, often with 2.89 million inhabitants, unless you consider it per capita.
Co-creation is another concept that Lithuania often emphasizes and as well as coin vests. As the name suggests, the early stage fund is co-investing in startups with business angels and other VCs. Early-stage trading adopted a cap profit sharing structure that Trimbel is particularly passionate about.
As an executive at Lithuanian Business Angel Network (Litban), which currently has 324 members, she is particularly keen to see more smart money flow into the market. The collective value of the Lithuanian startup ecosystem has increased 39 times over a decade, but there is still no shocking exit like Skype's Estonia.
Still, liquidity events such as Vinted's secondary sales have the effect of being drip-driven, and Trimbel believes Coinvest can increase these euros quickly. When I finished Interactio just 18 months later, the rules boosted Angel Investors' returns from 9x to 34x. “I think that was one of the factors that fueled the explosive growth of the business angel ecosystem,” Trim Bell said.
Even in defence technology, Trimbel defends the success of others who secure capital. Coinvest's sole limited partner, Lithuania's National Development Bank also provided “major capital injections to other local VCs, such as BSV ventures and Scalewolf. [the] Lithuania's contribution to the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF)” she celebrated on LinkedIn.
Similarly, Trimbel is pleased that European governments are happy to adopt a trend of “investment in deterrence and defense to further support European countries' competitiveness and resilience.”
It is a highly aware need by Lithuania, and I often know deeply and personally. “When I was 18, I saw with my own eyes that Russian tanks killed people. For us, it's not a textbook story,” Trimbell said. It mentioned events in January 1991 when Soviet forces tried to curb Lithuanian independence movements.
The trauma of Soviet rule, deeply ingrained in Lithuania's collective memories, has grown far beyond 1991. You don't need to be taught why you need to invest in defense,” Trimbell said.
Still, there is a new sense of urgency and solidarity since the war in Ukraine. The 2025 edition of Ladarom, a Ukrainian public funding campaign, has collected over 5.6 million euros for drones and anti-drone systems, including UDS. Trim Bell supported it, urging “Now we support Ukraine…and other days until victory.”
Like almost all Lithuanians, Trim Bell recalls where Russia began its full invasion of its eastern neighbors on February 24, 2022. A few days ago, she was abroad with her two daughters.
Without a cat or cat, Trim Bell would have returned to Lithuania either way. She points out that her name, Victoria, or victory is a good match for her relentless personality. Her girlfriend's circle is the same. “Instead of going to the bar and discussing new handbags, dresses and lipsticks, I'll go to the shooting range,” she said with a smile.
Of course, not everyone reacts the same way. Only humans experience flight and freezing reflexes. However, shortly after the war, she sought to drive others out of this paralysis by encouraging them to take actual measures. One of them was to participate in an increasingly steamed volunteer initiative across Lithuania.
The most iconic organization in the field is the government-backed non-profit Lithuanian Rifleman Union (LRU). It is dedicated to defending and strengthening Lithuania, but its activities have expanded beyond military training. With Coinbest and others, they co-organized the Fire Shield Hackathon, who will be returning in 2025 for the third edition.
It is the context in which the Trim Bell is depicted above, along with the union commander Lieutenant Colonel Linas Idzelis (uniform) and the retired Lieutenant Colonel Valeriejus Cherelis, Lieutenant Colonel Valeriejus Cherelis, Lieutenant Colonel Valeriejus Cherelis, in the context of the Trim Bell depicted above.
The LRU also contributed to the private response during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as Trim Bell, which invested efforts in helmet-based ventilation protection projects. “Covid was a good rehearsal to mobilize society in an age of threat,” she said. For her, the threat has now changed, but it is very realistic.
But even today, Trim Bell cares about areas other than defensive technology, and so does Coinvest. She spoke enthusiastically about Portfolio Startup Walk 15 and the upcoming “Labrador Walk.” This encourages people to take more steps by hiking with their dogs.
However, as she wrote in a recent LinkedIn post, “If Ukraine does not receive sufficient support from its allies, other investment returns are not important. Europe will be invaded even further.” As her name and character suggests, she is not tolerant of efforts to prevent this outcome.