This weekend marks exactly two years since Russia's illegal, baseless and brutal invasion of Ukraine. Despite overwhelming odds to repel the Russian onslaught and Western aid supplies continuing to stagnate, the country and its tech startup ecosystem have literally struggled and become a story of resilience. It has become.
For example, according to Kharkiv's high-tech “cluster” organization, out of 511 high-tech companies that were based in Kharkiv (a city well known these days for being subject to regular Russian shelling) before February 2022. It is said that 500 companies are still in operation.
And Western tech companies are increasingly coming together in this area and collaborating with Ukrainian tech companies on various initiatives.
This week, Google launched its second Google for Startups Ukraine Support Fund with a budget of $10 million to support Ukrainian startups from 2024 to 2025. Selected Ukrainian startups will receive up to $200,000 in equity-free funding, mentorship and product offerings from Google. Support and $300,000 in Google Cloud credits. Since the war began, Google claims to have allocated more than $45 million in direct aid and more than $7 million in support of humanitarian efforts.
Since the outbreak of war, the program has provided $5 million in non-equity grants and $15.8 million in follow-on funding to 58 startups. Technology companies supported in this way include Skyworker.ai, Mindly, Zeely, and more. Zeely raised a $1 million seed round last year.
Meanwhile, Estonian accelerator Startup Wise Guys has launched Growth Ukraine, a program for Ukrainian startups.
In addition, the EU-funded project Seeds of Bravery program has five programs that support Ukrainian high-tech startups with grants of between 10,000 and 50,000 euros.
Last week, the UK-Ukraine TechExchange launched a not-for-profit startup support program focused on defense technology and agritech.
This private pro bono program primarily works with startups developing drones, UAVs, acoustic-based missile detection, counter-drone technology, and drones for agricultural applications.
Ukraine's technology sector is surprisingly resilient and even growing.
A recent study by the Lviv IT Cluster (“Adaptability and Resilience in Wartime”) consulted more than 7,000 technology experts and more than 400 companies.
Ukraine's technology sector has helped keep the economy afloat even during the war.
The high-tech industry contributed 4.9% (or $7.1 billion) to Ukraine's GDP last year. In the Emerging Europe IT Competitiveness Index released in April last year, Ukraine ranked 12th, up from 14th in 2022.
Despite the ravages of war, the number of Ukrainians working in high-tech fields has increased by more than 7% (even though the overall economy has shrunk by almost a third), reaching a total of 307,600 people, including 240,000 2,000 people live and work in Ukraine.
Not surprisingly, the number of Ukrainians working abroad in the technology industry has increased by 20% and now stands at 65,000 compared to 55,000-57,000 last year.
Poland's technology economy is becoming “Ukrainian abroad”.
Approximately 36% of Ukrainian CEOs plan to open a new office, of which 28% plan to open an office abroad, with the majority choosing Poland as their second location.
Ukraine also exports technology that supports a rapidly evolving digital government. Estonia's latest digital tool, mRiik, is based on the Diia app of Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation and allows secure digital storage of ID cards, passports and driving licenses, as well as access to some public services. Masu.
The same Ministry of Digital Transformation also runs the Ukraine Startup Fund, which has become Ukraine's largest angel investor, supporting more than 350 startups. Many of these are clearly oriented towards defense and dual-use applications.
The country's defense technology initiative, which will launch in spring 2023, will be called BRAVE1. This will accelerate innovation in the defense and security sector. To date, it has funded over 400 projects, approximately 200 of which have also undergone field military testing.
Below you will find a selection of the latest news from Ukrainian startups and technology companies.
• Preply raised an additional $70 million in debt and equity funding last year to expand its Series C to $120 million. Currently, the company has 650 employees and 40,000 language instructors. The company claims a 10x increase in revenue since 2021 and recently opened a new office in New York City. It offers free group language lessons to displaced Ukrainians and does not charge fees for tutors based in Ukraine.
• Ukrainian software company MacPaw is in the final stages of developing a beta version of its app store for iOS apps aimed at iPhone users based in the EU.
• In late 2023, Firefly Aerospace completed another round of financing that it claims valued the company at $1.5 billion pre-money. It has reportedly raised $300 million in funding since February 2023.
• Carmoola, a British auto finance fintech company co-founded by Ukrainians Roman Smnikov and Ihor Khodychuk, secured $125 million in funding in February 2023, followed by funding in January 2024. secured an additional $16 million. It is backed by VCs such as VentureFriends, InMotion Ventures, and u. .Ventures.
• Fintech Farm, a pioneer in digital banking solutions founded by Ukrainians, has raised $22 million to expand into emerging markets.
• DressX, a digital fashion retailer founded by Ukrainians Darya Shapovalova and Natalia Modenova, has secured $15 million to expand its AR and digital clothing offerings.
• Vidby provides an AI-based speech translation solution and has an R&D center in Ukraine (and a Ukrainian CEO and co-founder).
• NewHomesMate, a marketplace for new homes in the US, has raised $5.5 million in funding.
• ELVTR is an education startup with a Ukrainian founder and team, and 45% of its staff is kept in Ukraine.
• Geek VC is a $23 million VC fund that invests in Ukrainian immigrant founders. The fund was founded by Ukrainian Vadim Rogovsky in collaboration with Ikhar Makhaniok a few months before the war began. His 25% of their portfolio companies are run by Ukrainian founders.
• The Hypla Fund was established shortly after the invasion of Ukraine. The fund has allocated about $20 million to companies with Ukrainian heritage, including $10 million to Trinetix.
• Spend With Ukraine is a non-profit organization that manages a web platform that includes more than 240 Ukrainian-based brands. Consumers around the world can show solidarity with the people of Ukraine by choosing #spendwithUkraine.
• Respeecher is an AI tool for audio duplication technology that works with Hollywood movie studios. Since the Crimean Tatar language is considered endangered by UNESCO, a team of respeakers is raising the voices of Crimean Tatar speakers to save the language, which is threatened under Russian occupation. are collecting.
• Petcube, a company that develops interactive pet cameras, has launched Cam 360 and GPS trackers for pets.
• Everyrun is a Ukrainian-British social running platform that provides solutions for marathon organizers, charities and companies looking to host running events. The product was launched last year and attracted runners from 32 countries, in partnership with marathon organizers in Lithuania and Italy.