Lean Startup Sydney

So with the recent Iron Beam video and also prior to that, a lot of people focused on the company Nlight $LASR It’s something that’s really popular among the US-based investors because they see emerging directed energy tech and they look for a pure play with a US listing and a US narrative. I’m gonna explain now why Electro Optic Systems $EOS.AX is my biggest personal position for almost 9 months and what US-focused investors totally miss on the landscape and the European defense rearmament. The main driver why you should differentiate from a U.S. play is ITAR compliance. Because the biggest transition that you’re seeing in the European rearmament cycle, which will reach $1 trillion in spending into 2030, is that they specifically want non-ITAR preference. They want systems that they control operational and politically. Essentially they want to get rid of ITAR systems. You’re seeing a big shift in local production and sovereign industrial participation. They want jobs and technology to be within Europe, and they want unconstrained export pathways that give flexibility way beyond U.S. regulatory. Europe has been very dependent on the US in terms of defense supply in recent history. And I would stimulate you all to do research in the ITAR/non-ITAR regime change within Europe, because it’s a game changer. And to be fair if you miss that part in your research it is severly flawed. EOS sits outside the US export control route remaining aligned with Western standards, and that’s a key strategic advantage. Another mistake I see people making is using Iron Beam as the direct proxy for how Europe will procure directed energy. Iron Beam is Israeli. It is built primarily around Israeli defense doctrine and Israeli operational requirements. Israel’s defense ecosystem is focused first and foremost on its own national security architecture, not on structuring export-friendly systems for European sovereignty frameworks. That distinction matters a lot. Europe increasingly does not want to be dependent on Israeli systems either, especially in politically sensitive procurement cycles. You already saw signals of this with Spain reassessing and canceling Israeli-origin defense orders and shifting procurement direction. European governments want control, autonomy, and political flexibility. So benchmarking European laser adoption purely off Iron Beam developments is flawed. So a short view on EOS: Electro Optic Systems operates across: •Best-in-class Remote Weapon Systems (RWS) •Proven anti-drone hard-kill capability •High-energy laser systems (100 kW class, production ready) •Directed energy roadmap toward higher-energy and space-relevant applications This is not a single-technology bet. They focus on a layered systems portfolio: kinetic + directed energy + space-forward positioning. Few milestones: •🇳🇱 First world ever 100 kW laser mobile system contract (Netherlands) •🇺🇸 Sole partner for the R400 weapon station on the new US Abrams tank making it into one of the most important Western armored platforms. •🇩🇪 Following EOS’ Dutch win, the German parliament reassessed its ~€500M laser development pathway under Rheinmetall and transitioned toward an open competitive process. And many more.. The non-ITAR market is way bigger than you think. They’re currently in active talks with countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, India, South Korea, the whole of Europe and Indo-Pacific. For now, we closed access to the full thesis on Electro Optic Systems as part of the transition. We’re mitigating between the launch of the new platform and the old structure, so we temporarily paused new access while we restructure everything properly.We presented it early on to our members and have been tracking it closely ever since including my own notes from direct calls with management. In about two weeks, once the full platform launch is complete, the thesis will be available again for new members. Stay tuned!

Just got of the $EOS.AX call. They did a $150M raise over the weekend because imminent opportunities are arising. They had an acquisition for MARSS,one of their products are interceptor rockets. they’re one of a small handful companies that can do it and they’re arguably the most credible non-US option interceptor companies who can shoot down Shahed drones. MARSS signed multiple contracts and is now the sole negotiator for a full-country counter-drone defense contract worth multiple billions. That’s only MARSS business unit. Eos has the world first portable High Energy Laser Weapon contract and also Space defense. Next to their world leading Remote Weapon Systems. Remind yourself this company’s market cap is $1.7B with a current backlog of 729m They were visited by the German Ministry of Defense and also by the commander of the German Space Force, plus commanders of Space Forces of other primary European Tier 1 clients. Clients want mobile solutions specifically to disable satellites. To quote the CEO: “nobody has any kind of weapon system like this in its portfolio,” and he expects EOS to “play a kind of monopoly across the non-US market over the next years to come” with the Atlas system. (See image) Also they managed to get $70M in upfront payments from customers, in a sector where this is highly unusual for every contract. I am very bullish on this company and almost covering it for a year now (July)

Business update live for $EOS.AX on the platform. MARSS acquisition has been closed on January terms. Management did what they said. Additionally MARSS just signed €102m (A$165m) in May. The bulk is an £85m country-wide counter-drone deal with a Middle East national defense force, NiDAR C2 at the core. Order book: A$136m (Dec-24) → A$459m (Dec-25) → A$509m (May-26) standalone → A$726m with MARSS. 1.7B company btw.. Probably coming some news out hearing the latest rumours. We walked through it point by point with the AAIG read on each item. Live on the platform now.