Ukrainian Tech Ecosystem Achievements 2021: SPEKA media

Iryna Supruniuk

1721 posts

Communication Lead, TechUkraine

This was a defining year for Ukrainian tech, plenty of memorable moments: GitLab’s IPO, Grammarly became decacorn, 252 000 tech specialists in Ukraine, new VCs, media, tech educational institutions, global tech moguls hatched audacious deals.

TechUkraine initiated the project “Ukrainian Tech Ecosystem Achievements 2021,” where we share the stories of the prominent stakeholders of the sphere – tech giants, startups, clusters, funds, media, accelerators, celebrating the success of the year and discovering what lies ahead in 2022 and beyond.

Let’s deep dive into some of the most significant achievements-making developments of the year!

SPEKA media

What are the key achievements of 2021?

In regards to the achievements in the IT industry, that’s new rounds of investment in Revolut and Grammarly, which brought Vlad Yatsenko, Oleksiy Shevchenko, and Dmytro Lytvyn to the list of the richest Ukrainians. Gitlab (who has a Ukrainian co-founder) and its IPO, and Depositphotos’ $85 million sale to a strategic investor are also worth mentioning.
From the perspective of the local ecosystem and the regulatory environment, Diia, Diia City and the passage of relevant bills are the main achievements of the year.
We can also include local Ukrainian companies entering new foreign markets (Rocket, Uklon, LUN, Ajax, outsourcing companies).
We can also highlight the launch of venture funds within the country (SID Ventures, Geek Ventures, etc.), mostly created by IT businessmen interested in investing in new product companies.

Which challenges were the most impactful during the year?

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been going on for more than a year and has helped the IT industry in many ways, it remains a major challenge for business. Pandemic-related quarantine and transfer to remote work still disrupt the usual business routine.

How will Ukrainian tech be developing? Approach, projections and perspectives for 2022?

Mass migration of IT companies to Diia.City.
Rapid development of IT education in Ukraine (a specialized IT university and many other educational initiatives were launched).
Early-stage startup investment boom (local venture funds, state funds).
Entry of global players into the Ukrainian market.

About SPEKA

SPEKA is a new digital media covering IT and entrepreneurship. The platform allows experts from different companies share insightful and valuable content. Moreover, the editorial team writes about the most fascinating cases and stories in technology.