As the conflict in Ukraine enters its third year, Europe is increasingly looking toward the country’s front lines to shape the future of global defense technology. With new capital flowing into the sector—including the €1 billion Nato Innovation Fund and the new €100 million Estonian SmartCap defense fund—the industry is scaling rapidly. Companies like Helsing, backed by Spotify’s Daniel Ek, are already mass-producing strike drones, but industry leaders agree: the most critical innovations are born where current wars are actually fought.
To understand the cutting edge of modern warfare, we reached out to Ukrainian dual-use and defense startups. Here is what they are building on the front lines today.
Technary
Dual use: Addressing the challenge of intercepting low-flying, radar-evasive drones. Their technology, approved by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, allows civilians to report incoming rockets, planes, or drones directly to military command via an app.
Founders: Hennadii Suldyn, Andriy Kosyak
Funding: Bootstrapped
Dropla
Dual use: This Ukrainian-Danish venture focuses on the high-risk task of de-mining. By deploying a fleet of UAVs equipped with multi-modal sensors followed by low-cost UGVs (unmanned ground vehicles) to verify cleared areas, they are creating Europe’s largest landmine detection dataset. They currently hold a contract with the European Space Agency.
Founders: Undisclosed for security reasons.
Funding: €1 million from Danish and German angels.
SOC Prime
Dual use: An AI-agnostic, compute-efficient ecosystem for collective threat detection. With a private database of 1 million detection rules, the platform supports companies specializing in DFIR, CTEM, and SIEM.
Founders: Andrii Bezverkhyi, Alex Bredikhin, and Ruslan Mikhalov
Funding: $11.5m from DNX Ventures, Streamlined Ventures, Rembrandt Capital, Atlantic Bridge, J-Ventures, and others.
Swarmer
Dual use: Solving the manpower-intensive problem of operating drone swarms. Swarmer allows a single operator to manage complex missions without being overloaded. The technology has been battlefield-proven since August 2023, completing over 32,000 combat missions.
Founders: Sergey Kuprienko, Alex Fink
Funding: $3 million
Kraken
Dual use: A multi-usage hybrid USV/UUV drone with AI capabilities for persistent underwater infrastructure monitoring and defense. It enables automated missions in GPS-denied environments without human intervention.
Founders: Pavel Panasjuk, Oleksandr Kvasha
Funding: MITS VC + 2 angels
Skyeton
Dual use: Developers of the Raybird, a sub-25 kg EW-sustainable platform. It can detect, strike, return, and rearm in a single mission cycle, carrying loitering munitions deep into enemy territory using a long-range laser designator.
Founders: Alex Stepura
Funding: Karbon invest
Ailand Systems
Dual use: Leveraging agricultural drone technology to create faster and safer de-mining operations.
Founders: Dmytro Titov, Heorhii Shakula
Funding: $425,000 via D3 Fund, Nezlamni Fund, Google for Startups
Anima
Dual use: A solution to the inefficiencies in traditional mental health assessments, which often suffer from high false-positive rates. Anima is currently developing products specifically for PTSD and concussion recovery.
Founders: Roman Havrysh, Sergiy Danylov
Funding: $340,000 pre-seed; currently seeking $500,000.
Aspichi
Dual use: Developing VR applications focused on education and mental health practices to combat PTSD.
Founders: Viktor Samoilenko, Max Goncharuk
Funding: $780,000 from SMRK.vc, ZAS Ventures, Catalyst Impact Investment Club Syndicate
FuelWell
Dual use: A plug-in fuel promotion device for internal-combustion engines. It reduces fuel consumption by up to 20% and CO2 emissions by 15%, offering significant cost savings for logistics and military fleets.
Founders: Serhii Dubinevych
Funding: Bootstrapped
Laser Guard Systems
Dual use: An autonomous counter-intrusion platform that uses AI and thermal vision to detect and neutralize aerial and ground threats. Their systems are currently protecting critical infrastructure, including the Kyiv Hydroelectric Station.
Founders: Undisclosed for security reasons.
Funding: In the process of closing an investment round.
HIMERA
Dual use: A tactical communication system designed for affordability and reliability. Using off-the-shelf components, HIMERA provides secure, battle-proven encryption and frequency-hopping, now integrated into standard military training programs in Ukraine.
Founders: Alex Oliinyk, Kyrylo Skyba, Misha Rudominski
Funding: $1.2 million from Freedom Fund VC and others.
Strategy Force Solution
Defense tech: Creators of Mafka AI, which enables fully autonomous, GPS-independent drone missions resistant to electronic warfare. It replicates pilot behavior for route planning and target detection.
Founders: Undisclosed for security reasons.
Funding: Grant from Brave1.
Terminal Autonomy
Defense: Secured the largest NATO contract for loitering munitions, marking the first lethal drone procurement by Germany in this category.
Founders: Roman Antonov, Francisco Serra-martins
Funding: CADG, Serra de Estela investments ltd
Buntar Aerospace
Defense: Combines UAV survivability with AI-driven operational support. Their Buntar 3 model offers extended flight time, while the Buntar Copilot system enables advanced “carousel” operation models for reconnaissance.
Founders: Ivan Kaunov, Bohdan Sas, Kateryna Bezsudna
Funding: $3.2 million from investors in the US, Ukraine, and Europe.
NORDA Dynamics
Defense: Developed autonomy modules that increase FPV drone efficiency from 30% to 80%, potentially saving $750 million annually.
Founders: Undisclosed for security reasons.
Funding: $250,000 from MITS capital and angel funds.
Clarity
Defense: An AI platform that analyzes vast amounts of battlefield reconnaissance data, trained on real-world inputs provided by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Founders: Undisclosed for security reasons.
Funding: Bootstrapped
OpenMinds
Defense: Counters state-sponsored propaganda and influence operations using proprietary machine learning models to detect threats in media landscapes and high-risk environments.
Founders: Sviatoslav Hnizdovskyi
Funding: Bootstrapped
TELETACTICA
Defense: Provides reliable, real-time video and data transmission in high-threat environments via custom hardware and portable modems designed to function under heavy electronic jamming.
Founders: Eugene Zhebko, Anton Hetman
Funding: MITS Capital, angel investors.
ARMOR
Defense: Software that turns standard tablets into precision targeting tools, reducing ammunition usage by over 10 times and enabling target neutralization in one to three shots.
Founders: Oleksii Havrysh, Kostiantyn Brendel, Andrii Moruha
Funding: Bootstrapped
Farsight Vision
Defense: Converts raw drone footage into real-time 2D and 3D digital maps, providing situational awareness in GNSS-denied environments.
Founders: Viktoriia Yaremchuk, Volodymyr Nepiuk
Funding: 774,000 EUR from Darkstar VC and Freedom Fund VC.
Ark Robotics
Defense: Builds “Frontier,” a tactical autonomy platform for robotic fleets. Currently deployed in over 20 frontline units, the company is actively expanding its partnerships with NATO agencies.
Founders: Undisclosed for security reasons.
Funding: Backed by early-stage deep tech and defense investors.
Vidar Systems
Defense: Uses acoustic sensors, triangulation, and AI to detect and pinpoint enemy artillery positions, specifically mortars, in real time.
Founders: Undisclosed for security reasons.
Funding: $0.7 million+ from Presto Ventures and others.
Biostream
Defense: A wearable device for soldiers that tracks vital signs and detects early indicators of hemorrhage or dehydration, sending geolocalized alerts to medics to reduce preventable battlefield deaths.
Founders: Mikita Zabuga, Sophia Metz, Chris Mussett
Funding: Bootstrapped
Sine.Engineering
Defense: Specializes in scalable UAV components and satellite-free navigation systems designed to bypass Russian electronic warfare. They are currently testing solutions for coordinated drone swarm operations.
Founders: Andriy Chulyk, Ostap Ferensovych, Bohdan Tymkiv.
Funding: Bootstrapped.
