Ukraine began 2026 with a stronger startup story than wartime conditions might suggest. Early-stage funding had rebounded, two new unicorns had joined the ecosystem, and foreign investors were looking more closely at its defence and dual-use technologies.
But the first half of the year also exposed a familiar feature of the CEE funding landscape, often seen as a weakness — funding totals remain heavily influenced by a small number of large deals, which can make the market appear stronger than it is.
What VC funding looks like in Ukraine in 2026
In Q1 2026, Ukrainian startups raised €228.9 million across 16 rounds, according to Vestbee's report. This made Ukraine the second-largest CEE market by capital raised. Preply’s $150 million Series D accounted for 56% of the total. Excluding the round, Ukrainian startups still raised approximately €100 million across 15 deals, including Uforce, HOLYWATER, Haiqu, and Buntar Aerospace.
Q2 looked very different. Funding fell to €16.3 million, while the number of rounds remained unchanged at 16. Ukraine also stayed among CEE’s three most active markets by deal count. This suggests that the decline was mainly caused by the absence of another large round, rather than fewer Ukrainian startups raising capital.
Overall, Vestbee tracked approximately €245.2 million across 32 disclosed Ukrainian rounds in H1 2026. The difference between the two quarters shows how strongly one large deal can shape Ukraine’s funding totals.
The H1 results follow a stronger 2025
The latest DealBook of Ukraine from AVentures Capital estimates that Ukrainian technology companies raised $498 million in equity and grants in 2025, up 8% from $462 million in 2024. The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2026 from Startup Genome puts the figure at up to $526 million. The totals differ because the reports use different definitions, but both show that early-stage activity was growing.
Series A investment almost doubled in 2025 and represented roughly one-fifth of total funding, while early-stage investment reached $191 million — close to its historical peak. AI-powered companies also attracted far more capital: approximately $302 million, compared with around $104 million for non-AI startups, excluding grants and undisclosed deals.
Ukraine’s startup ecosystem in 2026 — key facts
- Largest Ukrainian-founded startup round: Preply’s $150 million Series D
- Largest Ukrainian-founded defence tech round: Uforce’s $50 million seed round
- Largest round raised by a company with a major operating base in Ukraine: HOLYWATER’s $22 million financing
- Leading themes: defence tech, autonomous systems, AI, edtech, entertainment tech, and quantum computing
- Key change: foreign investors are increasingly leading or co-leading Ukrainian rounds
The biggest Ukrainian startup funding rounds of 2026
The six largest publicly disclosed rounds announced by Ukrainian-founded or Ukraine-based technology companies in 2026 have raised more than $250 million combined.
- Preply — $150M Series D (edtech).
- Selected investors: WestCap, EBRD, and Horizon Capital.
- Uforce — $50M seed round (defence tech).
- Selected investors: Shield Capital, Lakestar, and Ballistic Ventures.
- HOLYWATER — $22M Series A (entertainment tech).
- Selected investors: Horizon Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, and Wheelhouse.
- Haiqu — $11M seed round (quantum computing).
- Selected investors: Primary Venture Partners, Toyota Ventures, and MaC Venture Capital.
- Buntar Aerospace — $10.4M funding round (defence tech).
- Selected investors: Axon Enterprise and Munkene AS.
- Farsight Vision — €7.2M Series A (defence tech).
- Selected investors: Axon Enterprise, SmartCap Defence Fund, and Radix Ventures.
Ukrainian-founded language-learning platform Preply raised $150 million in a Series D round led by WestCap. The investment valued it at $1.2 billion and brought its total funding to approximately $299 million. Founded in Kyiv, Preply now operates globally and plans to invest in AI, data, product development, and international expansion.
London-based, Ukrainian-founded Uforce secured $50 million at a valuation exceeding $1 billion. Shield Capital and Lakestar co-led the seed round. The company integrates autonomous systems developed and deployed in Ukraine across air, land, and sea, positioning battlefield-tested technology for allied markets.
Kyiv-founded entertainment technology company HOLYWATER closed a $22 million round led by Horizon Capital. The financing will support its US expansion, content production, and new AI-enabled formats, showing that Ukrainian civilian consumer companies are also attracting sizable capital.
The remaining three rounds span quantum software and defence. Ukrainian co-founded Haiqu raised $11 million for its hardware-aware quantum operating system. Kyiv-based Buntar Aerospace secured $10.4 million to scale reconnaissance drones and mission software. Ukrainian-Estonian Farsight Vision raised €7.2 million for AI-powered geospatial intelligence and autonomous systems.
Defence tech is becoming an institutional investment category
AVentures Capital estimates that Ukrainian defence tech attracted more than $129 million in grants and equity investment in 2025, up 119% from $59 million in 2024. Foreign investors provided 49% of the capital, while another 25% came from rounds involving both foreign and Ukrainian backers.
The trend continued in 2026. KPMG’s H1 2026 M&A Radar identified four Ukrainian defence tech transactions exceeding $5 million, compared with one in H1 2025. Across Ukraine’s broader M&A market, KPMG recorded 40 transactions, up from 35 a year earlier, with $978 million in disclosed value. However, only 45% of transactions disclosed their value.
Uforce, Buntar, and Farsight show how defence financing is moving from small cheques towards institutional VC and strategic corporate investment.
Public markets are also opening: in March, drone-swarm software developer Swarmer became the first Ukrainian defence tech company to list on Nasdaq, raising approximately $15 million. As an IPO rather than a venture round, it is not included in the ranking above.
Who is investing in Ukrainian startups
The latest DealBook found that foreign investors committed more early-stage capital to Ukrainian startups than local funds for the first time since 2021.
The 2026 rounds confirm this shift: WestCap led Preply’s Series D, Shield Capital and Lakestar backed Uforce, Primary Venture Partners led Haiqu’s seed round, and strategic investor Axon financed both Buntar and Farsight Vision.
Local and Ukraine-focused firms remain important at earlier stages. These include Flyer One Ventures, Roosh Ventures, u.ventures, SID Venture Partners, SMRK, MITS Capital, Angel One Fund, and Resist.UA.
In 2026, Angel One closed a $3 million second fund to back 12 Ukrainian seed-stage startups, while Resist.UA launched a fund targeting up to €50 million for battlefield-tested defence and dual-use technologies.
Public funding also helps fill early-stage gaps. In April, the European Commission awarded €20 million to 41 Ukrainian deeptech startups and SMEs. Each will receive between €300,000 and €500,000, with potential fast-track access to the EIC Accelerator.
Where investment opportunities lie
The startup market sits within a broader effort to attract private capital. The Ukraine Investment Guide 2026, prepared by the Ministry of Economy and KSE Institute, identifies 377 opportunities across 11 sectors. These include digital technologies, defence, dual-use projects, and a dedicated section on private equity and VC funds.
The CMS Investing and Doing Business in Ukraine 2026 guide highlights the infrastructure developing around those opportunities: the Diia City framework for qualifying technology companies, war- and political-risk insurance, state support for large projects, and investment-protection mechanisms. Important constraints remain, including wartime currency controls and a proposed foreign-investment screening regime for sensitive sectors.
What comes next
Ukraine’s ecosystem is becoming more mature, but capital remains concentrated. Large rounds raised by globally distributed companies can quickly lift annual totals, while startups operating mainly in Ukraine face a narrower market.
Many defence investments also remain undisclosed for security reasons.
The next test will be whether more companies can progress from seed to Series A and Series B, and whether defence startups can turn battlefield validation into repeatable international sales. The good signal from 2026 is the widening range of international investors willing to lead Ukrainian deals — from traditional VC firms to government-backed funds and strategic industrial companies.
Methodology
This article follows AVentures Capital’s definition of a Ukrainian technology company: it must have at least one Ukrainian co-founder and at least a minority share of its workforce in Ukraine. Some companies in the article are therefore headquartered abroad.
Vestbee’s quarterly reports include publicly disclosed VC rounds of at least €50,000 and exclude grants and debt. They cover companies originating from CEE, identifying with the region, or having significant CEE founder representation.
