What Ukraine can teach the world about defence tech
As the urgent need for defence investment in Europe ramps up, Ukrainian defence tech is pushing ahead with innovations in aerial and water-based drones, robotics, electronic warfare and air defence systems, driven by the pressure of needing an advantage on the battlefield.
Investors and people working in Ukraine believe that the country’s battle-hardened startup technology could disrupt the sluggish peacetime defence industries of other countries – not just with new technology, but also by rewriting the rules on how equipment is tested and procured. And while interest from foreign investors and arms companies is warming up, they believe there is still a lot of unexplored opportunity.
“I want to see more corporate venture capital here,” says Anton Verkhovodov, a partner with D3, one of the few Ukrainian defence tech VC firms. Verkhovodov is a champion of Ukrainian innovation and thinks that corporate venturing could help realise the potential of the sector.