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$100M+ Boost: Global Investors Back Ukraine’s Defense Tech Breakthroughs: Results of Defense Tech Valley 2025

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$100M+ Boost: Global Investors Back Ukraine’s Defense Tech Breakthroughs: Results of Defense Tech Valley 2025

Defense Tech Valley 2025 in Lviv became the world’s largest defense innovation summit, gathering over 5,000 participants, including 1,500 international guests from more than 50 countries. Government officials, venture funds, and leading Ukrainian and international companies came together to discuss the future of the industry and find solutions to modern security challenges.

$100+ million in investments

The summit announced more than $100 million in investments into Ukraine’s defense tech sector. This is a unique opportunity for the country and a powerful signal to the world: Ukrainian technologies are trusted and valued for their potential.

Key investment announcements included:

  • NUNC Capital (Netherlands) — €20 million to scale promising defense companies in Ukraine
  • Verne Capital Fund (Germany) — €25 million in Ukrainian defense innovations
  • Varangians Fund (Sweden) — announced a large-scale investment plan in Ukraine and closed its first $1 million deal
  • Oedipus Inc. (USA) — will soon announce an ambitious partnership with Ukrainian defense tech
  • Swarmer — raised $15 million from U.S. funds led by Broadband Capital Investments to develop drone swarm technology

Over the past year, the average investment check in Ukrainian companies has grown from $300,000 to $1 million. This demonstrates growing investor confidence and readiness to scale up Ukrainian-developed solutions.

Brave1, the largest angel investor in Ukrainian defense tech, will also continue supporting Ukrainian companies and strengthening the defense innovation ecosystem.

Key message: “If you are not in Ukraine, you are not on the global defense tech market”

Ukraine showed global investors and Europe’s defense community that the major breakthroughs are happening here — and that the future of the industry is being shaped in Ukraine.

Today, Ukraine offers unique conditions found nowhere else in the world:

  • Real-time R&D — from idea to product in just weeks, with instant feedback from service members in real operations
  • World-class expertise — engineers and developers with wartime experience create solutions unmatched globally
  • Highest profitability — profitability for defense tech companies raised from 1% to 25% (compared to 17–18% in Europe)
  • Unique frameworks: Diia.City & Defence City — world-class legal and tax environment tailored for defense innovation
  • Capacity to protect allies — technologies tested in Ukraine strengthen not only Ukraine’s security but also NATO allies and global partners

Partnering with Ukraine means the opportunity to rapidly create effective solutions ready for deployment anywhere in the world.

Europe must learn from Ukraine

“Now is the time for Europe not only to support Ukraine but also to learn from Ukraine. The question before us is not just how to create a particular technology; it is how to create an entire ecosystem of defense innovation. That is why our task now is to integrate Ukraine’s defense industry with Europe’s — to support and learn from each other in order to strengthen the security not only of Ukraine but of the entire European continent,” said Andrius Kubilius, EU Commissioner for Defence and Space.

The Commissioner noted that the recent intrusion of Russian drones into Polish airspace served as a stark reminder of Europe’s vulnerability in facing modern threats such as drones. This is why European companies must adopt Ukraine’s advanced air defense expertise.

Ukraine — the global center of defense innovation

Defense Tech Valley 2025 confirmed that Ukraine has become the place where the future of the global defense industry is being shaped. Technologies tested in Ukraine’s toughest battlefield conditions are setting the new standard for global security.

Today, Ukraine is the global hub of defense tech. Technologies born here are tested in the harshest conditions and are shaping the future of global security.

Ukraine sends a clear signal to global investors: if you are not in Ukraine, you are not on the global defense tech market.

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