Defense technology has moved from VCS' no-go zone to the hot investment sector. However, double use means that technology must also have private applications — is still a requirement for most of them, including the NATO Innovation Fund.
Estonian VC company DarkStar aims to break away from this trend by investing purely in military applications and help them use the combat-proven solutions coming out of Ukraine. “This is very important not only today, but in the next decade,” said co-founder and general partner Ragnar Sass (second from left in the photo).
The company has taken a hands-on approach to this mission, helping startups deliver their products to military customers across Ukraine and Europe. For Ukrainian teams, this means not only raising funds, but also helping to establish entities that comply with NATO countries such as Estonia. “A company that wants to be part of European procurement and grants, the operational side must be perfect,” Sass said.
Over the next six to 12 months, the fundraising target is 25 million euros (approximately $29.2 million), and Darkstar intends to focus on pre-seed and seed rounds, with a regular check size of between 500,000 and 1 million euros. We have already made two investments. Startups in Ukraine and Estonia are Farsight Vision, specializing in geospatial analysis and 3D mapping for drone pilots, and Deftak, which develops ammunition for drone.
For SASS, investment in arms was not an obvious move. Ever since Skype founder funded his first startup, the pet owner community, a key figure in the Estonian startup ecosystem has co-founded CRM and sales tool Pipedrive, using its unicorn-sized exit revenues to make over 50 angel investments.
Some of these investments have also become unicorns, including Veriff. However, even after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 delivered trucks to SASS to encourage aid to Ukraine, none of them defended.
“It took me mentally quite a long time to understand that I wanted to be involved in the weapons system,” Sass said. He ultimately made his choice a year and a half ago.
Krattworks marked a turning point for SASS. It was also his last investment as an angel investor. Suss is currently putting money into Darkstar, which began as a coalition of hackathons and bootcamps, leveraging 10 years of experience at Hackathon Community Garage 48 between 2010 and 2020.
SASS is not the only one who supports this approach. The 15-month Darkstar just completed its first termination of 15 million euros (approximately $17.5 million) backed by European entrepreneurs, family offices and Estonian state-backed LP SmartCap, and TechCrunch has learned exclusively.
Supporting funds like Darkstar is also an exception to SmartCap, along with Coinbest Capital, a sovereign VC fund in 2023 that was permitted to make defensive investments without the need for private use cases. It is no coincidence that all of this comes from Balticology.
Russia's proximity and previous occupation of the Soviet Union have given Estonians like Sass a sense of urgency that is currently spreading across Europe as investors recognize the importance of defense. “But if you don't have real know-how in that field, you're struggling,” Sass said. In the case of Darkstar, building that know-how meant talking to the end users from day one.
In Darkstar, the end user is a Ukrainian brigade. Although several changes have been made, the country has adopted a decentralized approach, allowing combat units to make their own decisions. This may be difficult to navigate for outsiders, but Sass has gotten a head start.
“In the last three and a half years, I have been to Ukraine more than 20 times and personally met over 100 unit commanders. I spent time with them, talked with them and learned from them.” “Elite units are more like startups than I imagined.”
While cheap first-person view (FPV) drones are used to destroy millions of valuable equipment, Sass says it's a big mistake to think that technological developments from Ukraine are easy to copy. There is refinement – “Most elite drone battalions in Ukraine have their own R&D” – and there is speed on both sides of the front line. For example, the fiber optic drone was a game changer.
For startups outside of Ukrainian, that means that a solution that works on paper can be pointless, where Darkstar's bootcamp is intended to be useful. The next one will be held in Kiev this summer, and according to its website, it will give businesses “feedback, field testing opportunities, and validation of combat.”
Part of Darkstar's trading flow comes from a boot camp where staff work hands-on with their teams for five days. However, the pipeline is wider, with 2,000 eligible teams in Ukraine standing out. “Many of the Ukrainian companies we see aren't six months ago. They were over two years ago and were able to build products and companies with the lowest capital.”
The general mobilization of Ukrainians is not as large as it is often assumed. Founders who build effective combat products can receive exemptions and travel approvals, and a significant proportion of founders of Ukrainian defense startups are women, including Viktoriia Yaremchuk, Viktoriia Yaremchuk. That hurdle has been removed regarding restrictions on exports of defence technologies from Ukraine.
Darkstar GPS Kaspar Gering, Philip Jungen, Ragnar Sass with Farsight Vision CEO Viktoriia YaremchukimageCredit: Darkstar
SASS applies a similar place philosophy to defence investments. As he once argued that “early stage Scandinavian startups should cut the crap and move to Silicon Valley,” Darkstar won't invest in companies that intend to be based solely in Ukraine. He also speaks with teams based in Central and Eastern Europe, Latvia, the UK, Germany and more. “In a year or two, this [portfolio] It will be a more diverse and mixed group. ”
In line with this goal, Darkstar describes himself as a pan-European in the background. SASS is joined by Estonia-based GPS Kaspar Gering. He is Mart Nooorma (left in the main photo on the left), who spent 10 years at Wise in the role of Engineering and Data Science and is director of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence. The fourth Grand Prix, Philip Jangen, is based in Germany, with another partner and additional staff in Ukraine.
As for categories, DarkStar will invest in autonomous systems, air defense, electromagnetic warfare, communications, cybersecurity, sensors, and surveillance and intelligence.
According to SASS, some of these could turn into acquisition targets for cash-rich prime contractors who struggle to provide a quick solution that NATO countries are currently willing to buy. But with the support of government-backed governments about how the war in Ukraine has changed modern warfare, other startups could reach hundreds of millions of people themselves, and even be made public.
It is unclear whether defense startups, particularly those without private applications, will be able to achieve a successful breakout on their own. However, the rapid rise and ratings of companies like Anduril and Helsing suggest that venture-scale return prospects are being taken more seriously, along with a wave of funding focused on new defenses.
Either way, continuing the suspension is much bigger. He embraces the humor of NAFO, a global online movement that uses memes to support Ukraine, but SASS brings a subtle warning about Russia's ruthless war economy. “The enemy is moving so fast, which is why I believe the tech community needs to be more involved in dealing with that huge, growing threat.”