European Defense Startup Goes American for Lunch, European Again by Dessert
A rocket-propulsion firm says the fastest way around investment rules is simply changing nationality twice a day.
A European defense startup announced this week that it will begin reincorporating as an American company each weekday between noon and roughly four in the afternoon, a window the firm says is "more than enough time" for local investors to legally put money in before the paperwork reverts it back to European status for the evening.
"We looked at the restrictions, and honestly, the simplest fix was becoming a different country for a few hours," said a spokesperson for the firm, who declined to specify which flag would be flown outside headquarters during the transitional period. "We've found Tuesdays work best, since nobody has board meetings on Tuesdays."
European investment firms, long blocked from directly funding homegrown defense technology, have reportedly welcomed the arrangement, with several reserving recurring midday appointments to invest before the company's citizenship lapses again at the end of business hours. One investor described the routine as "the only time of day I'm legally allowed to believe in my own continent's rockets."
American investors, who currently account for a substantial share of funding in the sector, have expressed no objection to the scheme, noting that it does not affect their own access, which remains open around the clock regardless of which flag is flying that hour.
The startup says it is considering extending the American window into the evening if demand continues, though it stressed that any such expansion would be temporary, reversible, and almost certainly confusing to its own mailroom.