A snapshot of the past quarter at KPN Ventures: across our portfolio, the market and our team. From sovereignty and infrastructure to voice AI and battlespace communications, here is what we have been seeing.
MARKET & PORTFOLIO
Developments across our portfolio in Q1 reflect two broader shifts: Europe is moving towards owning and scaling critical infrastructure, and AI becoming more deeply embedded in real-world workflows.
In defense and cybersecurity, EclecticIQ’s doctrine-aligned intelligence platform signals a move away from retrofitted commercial tools toward systems designed for sovereign, mission-critical use from day one. The same shift is visible in digital identity, where Ubiqu and Thales are building the secure foundation for Europe’s digital identity wallet, reducing reliance on external providers for one of the most sensitive layers of the digital economy.
At the same time, Europe is investing in the physical layer underpinning this shift. SMART Photonics’ new factory marks an important step in scaling deep tech manufacturing capacity, a key enabler for next-generation communications and computing.
Across the portfolio, AI is evolving from workflows to interfaces, and now to control. CloudTalk surpassed one billion calls processed while introducing a set of new features, including AI-driven capabilities that streamline everyday workflows. And in voice AI ElevenLabs’ recent $500m Series D reflects the continued strong traction of more natural, conversational interfaces that are starting to reshape how users interact with technology. Partnerships like Openlayer’s work with Telefónica Tech highlight how end-to-end governance and observability are becoming essential as AI moves into production. Meanwhile, Cequence Security’s work on “agent personas” highlights how control is becoming a core part of the AI stack.
Finally, consolidation continues to shape the IoT market. Actility joining Netmore Group creates the world’s largest LoRaWAN network, strengthening the backbone for scaling massive IoT across utilities, cities and industry.
VOICE AI MOVES FROM INTERFACE TO EXECUTION
Agentic voice AI is redefining how people use digital services, making them more accessible, inclusive and intuitive by replacing rigid interfaces with natural, conversational interaction. What started as more natural text-to-speech is now evolving into systems that don’t just respond, but understand intent and act on it.
ElevenLabs combines enterprise-grade voice agents with creative tooling and low-latency infrastructure, pairing deep R&D and foundational model strength with rapid expansion into the application layer, which enables use cases from automated support to real-time voice applications. Together, this signals a move from voice as interface to execution layer.
“The speed of adoption we’re seeing shows that voice is becoming a primary interface for how people interact with digital services and that creates real growth opportunities for us at KPN. We see a huge market opportunity within our B2B segment where traditional communication incumbents are facing volume pressures", explains Daan Stolwerk, Investment Manager at KPN Ventures.
ElevenLabs’ Series D, led by Sequoia Capital, values the company at $11bn with $330m+ in ARR, with continued strong backing from Andreessen Horowitz and ICONIQ. CEO Mati Staniszewski emphasizes: “This funding helps us go beyond voice alone to transform how we interact with technology altogether.”
For telcos, voice introduces a new execution layer, enabling automated, real-time service delivery beyond menu-driven support. For investors, voice AI is emerging as a new interface paradigm, redefining how digital services are built and delivered.
COMMUNICATIONS ENTER THE BATTLESPACE
Modern warfare is making one thing clear: without connectivity, systems don’t function. Electronic Warfare is turning communications into a primary target, with recent conflicts showing that degrading networks and sensors often precedes any physical strike, making assured connectivity foundational in contested areas. The effects are no longer confined to the battlefield: during the 2026 Iran conflict, large-scale GPS interference disrupted navigation for over a thousand commercial vessels (CNBC, 2026), highlighting how quickly civilian systems are pulled in.
This reflects how deeply modern systems depend on connectivity. Drones, precision weapons, logistics, and critical infrastructure all rely on continuous positioning and data links, creating a clear point of failure. In Ukraine, sustained jamming has repeatedly disrupted navigation and communications (CSIS, 2025), turning the spectrum into a persistent, invisible frontline.
As a result, communications are shifting from performance to survivability - built to operate under interference and adapt in real time. This is reflected in KPN’s strategy, further building on defense communications through its partnership with the Dutch Ministry of Defense.
For telcos, resilience is shifting from a feature to a core offering, requiring adaptive, software-defined networks that can operate under disruption. For investors, value is moving toward technologies that make communication infrastructure more resilient, secure and spectrum-aware.
TEAM UPDATE
Having explored these broader trends in the market, it’s time to zoom in on what’s been happening within the KPN Ventures team. We welcomed a great new team member: Gina Nagpal, who joined us in February.
Gina gained early hands-on experience in startup environments, supporting the build and scaling of new ventures. She later joined Accenture in the Netherlands, where she worked on digital transformation and ESG programs across international markets.
Her interest in early-stage innovation led her into the VC ecosystem, where she worked within the impact investing space.
She now brings this extensive background to KPN Ventures and we are super excited to have her fresh perspectives on the team. Welcome, Gina!
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