YPOG provided comprehensive advice to Project A on structuring the investment vehicles as well as on the Series C investment in the Berlin defence startup Stark. The advisory services covered regulatory, tax and corporate law matters, as well as transaction support for the funding round totalling EUR 500 million. The round was led, among others, by Sequoia Capital and Founders Fund.
Stark is a defence technology company founded in 2024 and based in Berlin. The company develops software-driven, AI-enabled unmanned systems for European and NATO armed forces – including loitering munitions and swarm technology that remain operational even in highly contested electronic environments.
Stark is one of the fastest-growing defence startups in Europe and works, among others, with the German Federal Armed Forces and additional NATO partner states, which are already using systems such as the Virtus platform in procurement and testing programmes.
More than 80% of the newly raised capital is to be invested directly in research and development and in expanding production capacities in Europe – including additional research facilities in the field of electronic warfare and scaling production to several thousand systems per month. Most recently, Stark expanded into the United Kingdom and Sweden, acquired the Berlin software company Pleno and secured a contract from the German Federal Armed Forces with a volume of EUR 268 million.
“This mandate shows how transaction advisory and fund structuring go hand in hand at YPOG – from structuring the investment vehicles and designing tax structures to navigating regulatory frameworks and negotiating with investors,” says Dr Stephan Bank, partner at YPOG.
“We are delighted to support Project A in this significant funding round for Stark. The transaction marks another milestone in our long-standing collaboration, in which we have been able to provide legal support to Project A in numerous technology-driven investments,” adds Dr Frederik Gärtner, partner at YPOG.
YPOG and Project A share a long-standing working relationship. The firm has been advising Project A for several years on numerous funding rounds and transactions and has also supported the venture capital investor from the outset in structuring and setting up all investment vehicles.
Team
Structuring
Dr. Stephan Bank (Lead, Funds), Partner, Berlin
Dr. Helder Schnittker (Lead, Tax Structuring), Partner, Berlin
Lennart Lorenz (Regulatory), Partner, Hamburg
Dr. Saskia Bong (Co-Lead, Funds), Associated Partner, Berlin
Dr. Dajo Sanning (Tax Structuring), Associated Partner, Hamburg
Dr. Wolfram Dickersbach (Tax Structuring), Senior Associate, Hamburg
Franziska Wüst (Funds), Associate, Berlin
Transaction
Dr. Frederik Gärtner (Lead, Transactions), Partner, Berlin
Dr. Sarah Sostak (Transactions), Associate, Berlin
Pressekontakt
About us
YPOG stands for You + Partners of Gamechangers – forward-thinking legal and tax advice. Supporting companies that are focused on emerging technologies, YPOG embraces change as an opportunity to develop cutting-edge solutions. The YPOG team offers comprehensive expertise in the areas of Funds, Tax, Transactions, Corporate, Banking, Regulatory + Finance, IP/IT/Data Protection, Litigation, and Corporate Crime + Compliance + Investigations. YPOG is one of the leading law firms in Germany for venture capital, private equity, fund structuring, and the implementation of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in financial services. Both the firm and its partners are regularly recognized by renowned national and international publications such as JUVE, Best Lawyers, Chambers and Partners, Leaders League, and Legal 500. YPOG is home to more than 180 experienced attorneys, tax advisors and tax specialists as well as a notary, working across offices in Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, Cambridge and London.
Further information: www.ypog.law/en/ and www.linkedin.com/company/ypog