By Chris Sampson
Copyright kyivpost
Ukraine’s reputation as a hub for defense technology received a major boost at the Brave1 Defense Tech Valley 2025 summit, where international investors pledged over $100 million to support Ukrainian defense innovations.
The event drew more than 5,000 participants from 50 countries, making it the largest defense innovation summit in Ukraine’s history. It was also marked by a wave of investment announcements highlighting Ukraine’s growing status as a global hub for defense technology.
Four companies from Europe and the United States have committed to invest more than $100 million in Ukrainian defense technologies, with several deals already moving into closed funding rounds.
Separately, Ukrainian company Swarmer announced the largest publicly reported investment in the sector’s history, raising $15 million in a Series A round led by US investors from Broadband Capital Investments.
“It’s Ukraine that is shaping the modern doctrine of warfare, where technology plays a decisive role,” said First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.
“Our message to international investors and companies is simple: If you are not in Ukraine, you are not in the defense technology market. Since 2024, Ukrainian defense companies have already attracted $90 million in investment, with the average deal size increasing from $300,000 to $1 million. At Defense Tech Valley 2025, we are reaching a new level,” he added.
Among the new deals, NUNC Capital of the Netherlands committed €20 million to a venture-building initiative focused on new materials to reduce Ukraine’s reliance on foreign supply and create local jobs. German-Luxembourg fund Verne Capital pledged up to €25 million ($24 million) into Ukrainian defense, security, and cybersecurity companies.
Swedish fund Varangians has announced a large-scale plan for Ukraine, with the first deal already closed, and further details to follow. Oedipus Inc. announced its launch as Europe’s first permanent capital vehicle dedicated entirely to defense technologies, with a team already experienced in backing Ukrainian autonomous systems.
European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius urged Europe to integrate Ukraine’s experience and capabilities.
“The time has come for Europe to not only support Ukraine, but to learn from Ukraine. The question before us is not merely how to create a certain technology; it is how to create an entire ecosystem of defense innovation,” he said.
“This is why our task now is to integrate Ukraine’s defense industry into Europe – to support and learn from each other to strengthen the security of not just Ukraine, but the whole European continent,” he added.
Kubilius cited recent Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace as a warning of Europe’s vulnerability and urged European companies to adopt Ukraine’s air defense expertise.
Alongside investment announcements, Brave1 hosted the largest defense technology exhibition in Ukraine’s history. Over 230 Ukrainian and international companies presented systems already proven in combat as well as cutting-edge developments.
Displays included missiles, deep-strike systems, interceptor drones, AI-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), aerostats, unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), anti-drone turrets, laser platforms, electronic warfare (EW) systems and advanced communications.
A specialized UGV arena allowed visitors to test over 20 robotic complexes on obstacle courses simulating battle conditions such as ruined cities, forests, and desert terrain. Guests could directly operate the machines and see their performance under realistic scenarios.
The Battle Proven startup competition added another dimension, as Ukrainian innovators pitched to investors, defense companies, and military representatives for a $60,000 prize fund. Clarity won the Trail Blazers category with its AI for identifying enemy equipment.
Dwarf Engineering was recognized as a Gamechanger for its first-person view (FPV) drone navigation AI, while Farsight Vision took the Power Players award for aerial imagery processing.
A special prize went to Blue Bird for its drone detection and jamming systems. Support for the competition came from Ukrainian and international defense leaders, including Tekever, Quantum Systems, Athlon Avia, NUNC Capital and Defence Builder.
Nearly 100 speakers addressed the summit, including Hülya Bayraktar, CEO of Baykar Defence, Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Col. Andrii Lebedenko, Deputy Minister of Defense Yurii Myronenko, Taras Chmut of the Come Back Alive Foundation, Commander of the K-2 unit Kyrylo Veres, and Commander of the 427th Separate Unmanned Systems Regiment Oleh “Khasan” Huit.
On the second day, Col. Pavlo “Lazar” Yelizarov of the National Guard’s Lasar’s Group made his first public appearance alongside Captain Roman “Fish,” presenting exclusive combat footage and recounting the destruction of Russian equipment valued at $12 billion.
International participants included Kimberly Kagan, president of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Bram Oostvogel of NUNC Capital, AI leaders James Lithgoe of Shield.ai and Daniel Lay of Helsing, Eveline Buchatskiy of D3, Justin Zeefe of Green Flag, and Pär Lager of Varangians, who outlined investment opportunities. At the event, Gene Keselman of MIT also spoke on dual-use technologies.
Ukrainian innovators, including Denys Chumachenko of DeViro, Yaroslav Azhniuk of TheFourthLaw, Iryna Terekh of Fire Point, and Andrii Chulyk of Sine Engineering, also shared their expertise.
Ukraine’s rapid resurgence in defense technology builds on its legacy as a leading weapons exporter before 2010, when ousted former President Viktor Yanukovych weakened the weapons industry. That industrial base helps explain how quickly Ukraine has rebuilt capacity under wartime pressures and why investors now see Ukrainian innovation as central to the future of defense.
In total, over 300 investors from Europe and North America attended Defense Tech Valley 2025, double the number at Brave1’s February Defense Tech Innovation Forum.
