NUNC Capital has taken a strategic minority stake in Angard Microwave, developer of directed-energy high-power RF technology to neutralize unmanned threats. The private defense investor joins the company’s founding team, CEO Jasmine Sharifa Szimanneck and CTO Anton Atanasov, who together retain majority ownership, and existing shareholders TNO and the University of Twente. The investment, the amount of which hasn’t been disclosed, is part of the startup’s seed round.
Angard builds solutions to disrupt, disable or degrade electronic systems without physical interception. This makes them applicable across both defense and security contexts, including the protection of military assets, critical infrastructure and sensitive locations. Founded last year, the company is now positioned for its next phase of growth. It’s closely embedded in the Dutch defense and research landscape through its shareholders and partnerships, ensuring strong links between applied research, system development, testing and validation.
NUNC adds experience in scaling defense companies, international market access and long-term capital focused on operational deployment rather than experimentation. Between 2015 and 2018, the investment firm was involved in the development of high-power microwave-based counter-unmanned systems through its earlier company Dronatec. While the technology proved effective and attracted strong international interest, defense budgets and procurement structures at the time didn’t support large-scale adoption. The lessons learned from that period now directly inform NUNC’s approach to Angard, particularly around market readiness, stakeholder alignment and industrial cooperation.
“High-power microwave is a ‘need to have’ technology within the defense and security domains,” says Bram Oostvogel, founding partner at NUNC. “We worked on this capability before, at a time when the technology was promising, but the market and budgets weren’t ready. That experience shaped how we invest and build today. With Angard, the timing, the partnerships and today’s operational realities give this technology real momentum.”
Directed energy and counter-autonomous system capabilities have moved from experimental concepts to urgent operational requirements, driven by current conflicts, the rapid spread of unmanned and robotic systems, and the increasing need for force protection as well as the safeguarding of critical infrastructure and other sensitive environments. “Angard’s technology addresses a real and growing operational need,” comments Frank van Vliet, principal scientist at TNO. “The continued development of these systems is highly relevant for modern defense and security operations. We trust Angard to be a decisive factor in both capability development and quick adoption.”
“With NUNC Capital, Angard gains a strong strategic partner that brings hands-on experience in building and scaling defense technologies, a strong understanding of defense customers and an international network,” says co-founder and CEO Szimanneck. “This partnership not only signals strong belief in our vision but also gives us the foundation to realize our growth ambitions and accelerate our path to deployment. NUNC actively supports our mission to bring our directed-energy high-power microwave counter-robotic systems to the market to protect critical infrastructures and society across Europe and its allies from the rapidly evolving threat of weaponized robotic systems.”
