This weekend marks exactly two years since Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine. Despite the enormous challenges and delays in the delivery of Western aid to counter the Russian offensive, as well as the devastation caused by the fighting, Ukraine and its tech startup ecosystem continue to set an example of resilience, TechCrunch writes.
Of the 511 tech companies based in Kharkiv by February 2022, 500 are still operating, according to the Kharkiv IT cluster.
Western technology companies have supported the sector by increasingly cooperating with Ukrainian tech firms in various initiatives.
This week, Google launched its second “Ukraine Startup Fund ” with a budget of $10 million to support Ukrainian startups in 2024 and 2025. Selected Ukrainian startups will receive up to $200,000 in interest-free financing, as well as Google mentoring, product support, and $300,000 in Google Cloud credits. Since the beginning of the war, Google has provided more than $45 million in direct aid and $7 million in support of humanitarian efforts.
Since the start of the war, the program has provided 58 startups with $5 million in interest-free grants and $15.8 million in follow-on funding. Among these companies that received such grants were Skyworker.ai, Mindly, and Zeely. Last year, Zeely raised an initial round of $1 million.
Meanwhile, the Estonian accelerator Startup Wise Guys has launched the Growth Ukraine program for startups in Ukraine.
The EU-funded Seeds of Bravery project has launched five programs to support Ukrainian tech startups with grants ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 euros.
Last week, the UK-Ukraine TechExchange, a non-profit startup support program specializing in defense and agriculture technologies, was launched. This private program works primarily with startups developing drones, UAVs, sonic missile detection technologies, anti-drone technologies, and drones for agricultural applications.
Ukraine’s tech sector shows impressive resilience and even growth
A recent survey by the Lviv IT Cluster (“Adaptability and Resilience in Times of War”) – based on interviews with 7,000 tech professionals and over 400 companies – found that while a significant number of tech professionals have left the country, the majority are staying, including Ukrainians who study and find jobs from home and abroad.
The total number of technical specialists, according to their data, increased by more than 7%, to 307,600 people. Of these, 242,000 continue to live and work in Ukraine, while the rest live abroad.
Last year, the country’s technology industry contributed 4.9% (or $7.1 billion) to Ukraine’s GDP. In the IT Competitiveness Index for Emerging Europe published last April, Ukraine ranked 12th, up from 14th in 2022.
Poland, not surprisingly given the common border, has quickly become a country of destination for Ukrainians. About 36% of Ukrainian CEOs are planning to open new offices, 28% of them abroad, and most of them choose Poland as a second base for their activities due to its proximity to Ukraine and the huge number of Ukrainian specialists based in Poland.
Ukraine is also exporting the technologies that underpin its rapidly developing digital government. mRiik, Estonia’s newest digital tool, is based on the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation’s Diia app, which securely stores ID cards, passports, and driver’s licenses digitally and provides access to some government services.
More mature Ukrainian startups led by Ukrainian founders are also not standing still:
- Last year, Preply raised another $70 million in funding – a combination of debt and equity – to expand its Series C to $120 million. The company currently employs 650 people and 40,000 language tutors. The company claims to have increased its revenue 10-fold since 2021 and recently opened a new office in New York. The company provides free group language lessons for displaced Ukrainians, does not charge any fees for tutors who live in Ukraine, etc.
- The Ukrainian company MacPaw is in the final stages of developing a beta version of the iOS app store aimed at iPhone users from the EU.
- At the end of 2023, Firefly Aerospace, founded by a Ukrainian, closed another tranche of financing, valuing the company at $1.5 billion. The company says it has raised $300 million in funding since February 2023.
- Carmoola, a UK-based car finance fintech company co-founded by Ukrainians Roman Sumnikov and Igor Gordiychuk, received $125 million in funding in February 2013, followed by another $16 million in January 2014. It is supported by venture funds such as VentureFriends, InMotion Ventures, and u.ventures.
- Fintech Farm, a digital banking solutions pioneer founded by Ukrainians, has raised $22 million to enter emerging markets.
- DressX, a digital fashion retailer founded by Ukrainians Daria Shapovalova and Natalia Modenova, has raised $15 million to expand its augmented reality and digital clothing offerings.
- Vidby, an AI-powered voice translation solution with an R&D center in Ukraine (and a Ukrainian CEO and co-founder).
- NewHomesMate, a marketplace for new buildings in the United States, raised $5.5 million in funding.
- ELVTR, an education startup with Ukrainian founders and team, retains 45% of its employees in Ukraine.
- Geek VC is a $23 million venture capital fund that invests in Ukrainian immigrant founders. The foundation was created by Ukrainian Vadym Rogovskyi in partnership with Belarusian Igor Makhanka a few months before the war began. Twenty-five percent of their portfolio companies are managed by Ukrainian founders.
- Hypra Fund started its operations shortly after the invasion of Ukraine. The fund has allocated nearly $20 million to companies with Ukrainian roots, including $10 million to Trinetix.
- Spend With Ukraine is a non-profit organization that curates a web platform with over 240 brands with Ukrainian roots. By choosing #spendwithUkraine, consumers around the world can show solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
- Respeecher is an artificial intelligence tool for voice-over technology that works with Hollywood film studios. As the Crimean Tatar language is recognized by UNESCO as an endangered language, the Respeecher team is gathering the voices of Crimean Tatar speakers to protect the language, which is endangered by the Russian occupation of Crimea and southern Ukraine.
- Petcube, a company that develops interactive cameras for pets, has launched Cam 360 and a GPS pet tracker.
- Everyrun is a Ukrainian-British social running platform that offers solutions for marathon organizers, charities and corporations looking to host running events. In the year since the product’s launch, the company has established partnerships with marathon organizers in Lithuania and Italy, and attracted runners from 32 countries.
