Ukrainian tech sector in wartime (May Edition)

On 24 February, Russia launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. After 8+ years of occupation of parts of Luhansk and Donetsk regions and attempted annexation of Crimea (aggression that had already killed thousands of Ukrainians), Putin’s regime crossed an unthinkable line, moving the Russian army into brutal large-scale warfare, an invasion the likes of which hasn’t been seen in Europe since World War Two.

Ukraine’s tech sector has had to adapt to the realities of war but continues to operate at almost full capacity despite the extraordinary conditions, demonstrating colossal resilence. Read TechUkraine’s digest of 1.05-31.05.2022:

• Analytics: Ukrainian tech ecosystem during war
• Ministry of Digital Transformation: wartime projects & initiatives
• Wartime scaling up: new offices in Ukraine and globally
• Venture capital and investments in wartime
• Tech Ecosystem news during aggression 
• Featured Articles via global media 
• Podcasts

Analytics: Ukrainian tech ecosystem during war 

IT Ukraine Association: “Ukrainian IT Industry: reboot in wartime”: During the first quarter of 2022, the IT industry provided record-high $2 billion of export income in wartime. A similar figure in 2021 was $1.44 billion. Therefore, the volume of IT exports has increased by 28% – read

Ukraine Deal Review 2021, also covering 3 months of 2022 by Kreston Global Ukraine,  Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (UVCA), AVentures Capital and ISE Corporate Accelerator: In 2021, Ukrainian startups attracted venture capital investments worth USD 779.6 million, 46% more than in 2020. Like in a previous period, Ukrainian Startup Fund (USF) accounted for about half of the deals (47%). In January–March 2022, 11 venture capital deals of USD 11.5 mln, 3 private equity deals of USD 4 mln, and 8 exits of USD 135 mln already took place – read

DOU: Ukrainian Tech Job Market During Wartime: The number of job offers plunged to 40% of the pre-war level for all kinds of Tech Specialists. At the same time, salary forks remain largely unchanged. The job offer geography changed dramatically. The portion of remote job offers increased, and some Ukrainian companies started actively placing job offers abroad (first of all, in Poland) – read

Djiinni: How the war impacted the tech job market in Ukraine (Market update, May 23th). Candidates online: Candidates: 47,388 (+1,151)  Jobs: 15,289 (-285)  – read

Cyber Rapid Response Team of the State Cyber Defense Center – Q1 analytics: 14 million suspicious information security events in 3 months – read

Salaries of IT specialists in wartime by Smart Solutions: 90% of candidates which were hired before the war are working now – read

Lviv IT Cluster launches the IT Research Resilience: the project will survey at least 6,000 IT professionals — and analyze data according to a six years old verified method adapted to the war — to create what the company hopes will be the fullest picture of the state of the IT industry after February 24 – read

“Three months at war: The voice of Ukrainian Start-ups”: TechUkraine, in partnership with the Ukrainian Startup Fund, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Emerging Europe, Tech Emerging Europe Advocates, Global Tech Ambassadors, and TA Ventures, is launching an online survey of the start-up ecosystem which aims to understand the impact of Russia’s invasion on Ukrainian start-ups after three months of heroic resistance, analyze the dynamics in the sector, and find the most effective ways of support – read

2022 Startup Ecosystem Index by StartupBlink: Due to the effects of the war, Ukraine had a strong decrease of 16 places but managed to remain in the global top 50, ranked 50th. It ranks 30th in Europe. Kyiv is most notably ranked in the top 25 globally for Marketing & Sales and Software & Data industries – read

Ministry of Digital Transformation – wartime projects & initiatives 

• IT Army of Ukraine: Over 263,000 people have joined a group called IT Army on the social media platform Telegram.
• Diia Summit Brave Ukraine at Davos: 5 directions of digital development of Ukraine: Internet infrastructure transformation, Transformation of the management, Digital economy, Innovative security technologies, New educational models.
• Diia.Business in Warsaw: Ukraine citizens will be able to take advantage of free, professional consultations in the area of running a business, accommodation, employment and living in Poland.
• Digital diplomacy front: communication with Big Tech companies (Elon Mask & Starlink, etc
• Diia app in wartime: not just e-documents and identification of citizens at checkpoints; now it is also the opportunity to donate the army; e-vorog reports on the movement of the enemy’s military troops and hardware; application for compensation for property damage caused by Russia’s all-out war; 24/7 access to TV and radio; e-bayraktar game – the possibility of imagining yourself as a Bayraktar operator.
• International Legion of Internet Army: a government-led unit for spreading facts about the ongoing conflict against the Kremlin’s propaganda
• MetaHistory Museum of War: An NFT-museum of the war of putin’s russia against Ukraine; already raised over $1,530,566 – read
• TruthFund.com a fund to fight disinformation about the war in Ukraine – read

Wartime scaling up: new offices in Ukraine and globally

Ajax Systems starts sales in North America with its first official distributor SS&Si Dealer Network – read. The company also opened its first plant abroad — in Istanbul, Turkey – read

Ukrainian AI startup Birb by LUN launched in London – read

The Ukrainian online ride-hailing service Uklon is launching an international franchise and is looking for partners in the Baltic States, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and other countries – read

Ukrainian Parimatch Tech opens a development hub in Praha, Czech Republic – read

Ciklum opened delivery-hub in Sofia, Bulgaria – read

Grid Dynamics opens operations in Hyderabad, India – read

Avenga is opening a new delivery office in Porto – read

Ukrainian YozmaTech opened an office in Tbilisi, Georgia – read

Ukrainian Genesis opened office in Warsaw, Poland and plans to temporary hub in Cyprus – read

Lviv-based Binariks opened representative office in Katowice, Poland – read

Ukrainian MobiDev is now presented in Lodz, Poland – read

AllSTARSIT opened international Multinational Tech Hub in Dubai, UAE – read

Ukrainian HebronSoft announced opening office in Baya-Mare, Romania and in Hust, Zakarpattya region, Ukraine – read

Ukrainian N-iX opened new hub in Ivano-Frankivsk for 40 tech specialists – read

According to Forbes, Ukrainian IT companies have opened 18 offices abroad since the beginning of war – read

Venture capital and investments in wartime 

MacPaw invests $1 million in the development of Promprylad.Renovation innovation center to keep businesses and talents in Ukraine – read

The Kyiv-based startup Yope (previously called Salo), founded by Belarusians Bakhram Ismailov and Pavlo Rudkovskyi, has raised $2 million from several funds – read

Google announced the first cohort of the Google for Startups Ukraine Support Fund. 17 Ukraine-based startups will receive up to $100,000 in non-dilutive funding as well as ongoing Google mentorship, product support, and Cloud credits – read

The CfE-based startup support fund that provides $50,000 in non-equity grants to Ukrainian startups 7wings announced the winners of the first selection – read

Vymex raised $111,000 from Amazon Web Services (AWS) to help Ukrainian entrepreneurs easier to restart their businesses in wartime and post-war period – read

Founder of VC InSoft Partners Vitaly Gorovoy acquires a stake in Indeema Software – read

Climate Innovation Vouchers by Greencubator are returning and providing up to € 50,000 grant support to green companies – read

Ukrainian product IT-company Boosta launched VC Burner which will provide SMART-investments for digital projects at all stages (Idea, Pre-seed, Seed, Stage A) – read

Ukrainian job platform Jooble, the 2nd largest job site in the world, launched in-house incubator – read

Tech Ecosystem news during aggression 

Zakarpattya IT cluster/IT Cluster Transcarpathia has started operating. 11 IT companies have joined the board: Astound Commerce, SoftServe, Sigma Software Group, Genesis, 4TEAM, Telesens, EPAM Systems, Intellias, SQUAD CANFLY LLC, and PettersonApps – read

Lviv IT Cluster Resumes the IT Village Project – read

Lviv ІТ Cluster in cooperation with Lviv Military Administration, and the Air Command West will implement Sky project – read

IT campus planned to be built in the Lviv region on 8 ha and a total area of 10,000 square meters. The town’s campuses will be able to accommodate up to 1,000 participants, and the construction of temporary accommodations is also planned. In addition, the rehabilitation center within the technopark will be designed for 500-600 people – read

Ukrainian A.D.A.M. To Launch Production of 3D-printing Bone Implants in Lviv – read

Founder of Ukrainian AB Games Anton Bolshakov in partnership with engineer Yevhenii Rvachov launched the company UAV Defense Robotics which will develop drones for Ukrainian Army with the production in Kyiv – read

The Ternopil-based company ELEEK developed electric bicycles for the Armed Forces of Ukraine named “Atom Military” – read

Ukraine for the first time received two important awards in the field of cybersecurity Cybersec Europe 2022 Award: for the heroic resistance to the Russian aggression and protecting digital boundaries of the democratic world – read

Ukraine is among the top 20 countries in the world in terms of data ecosystem development, according to a rating in the international study Global Data Barometer – read

Forbes 30 under 30 featured Ukrainians: The Kyiv Independent journalists, cyber sportsmen of Natus Vincere Oleksander Kostyliev, CEO of Teach For Ukraine Oksana Matiiash among the list – read

Ukrainian developer and manufacturer i3 Engineering received the WORLD SMART HOME AWARD 2022 in the home control/building control/BUS systems category, becoming the only winner from our country this year – read

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukrainian digital minister, was featured at POLITICO’s annual ranking of the 28 power players behind Europe’s tech revolution – read

Young Ukrainian scientist Anastasiia Romanchuk was awarded for “being the best reporter” at the International Physicists Tournament 2022 in Columbia – read

Ukrainian Diia City has been shortlisted for the Future of Emerging Europe Awards – read

Ukrainian digital service Diia won two awards, Wood Pencil, by D&AD: Digital Design / Incremental and Impact / Local Solution – read

Ukrainian Netpeak Group and volunteers launched “Replace russian software with Ukrainian solutions” – a list of popular Russian software and 100% Ukrainian alternatives – read

The AI-driven platform for data integration Datuum.ai will help Ukrainian companies quickly replace Russian software products with alternative ones – read

Tech companies back to Kyiv: Sigma Software, UNIT.City, Lift99 – read

Ukrainian state enterprise, the biggest post operator in the country Ukrposhta in partnership with Disqover Agency launched its store on the international platform eBay – read

International payment platform Payoneer payment platform has been integrated into Ukrainian Privat24 – read

Foxtrot stores have launched cryptocurrency payments through Binance Pay – read

Microsoft will help Ukraine document Russia’s war crimes – read

14 Ukrainian Startups to Participate in Viva Technology in France – read

8 Ukrainian Startups to Participate in Collision in Canada – read

TechUkraine is an official media partner for TNW Conference 2022 – read

The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine’s resilient tech industry doing well in spite of war – read

Forbes Ukraine: Ukrainian tech entrepreneurs among the biggest supporters during war – read

NV: Russia, once considered a top force in cyberspace, now being mocked by world’s best hackers – read

AIN: “Everyone in the West wants to buy Ukrainian products.” How Ukraine’s Awesomic works during the war – read

Dev.ua: Interview with Yuriy Fylyuk, CEO of Promprylad.Renovation – read

TechUkraine Blog 

Ukrainian Tech Ambassadors at TechEU Summit 2022 – read

12 VCs That Support Ukrainian Startups In Wartime – read

Interview with LvivTech.City team: “The project has everything you need to run a business, even in wartime” – read

MacPaw Stands With Ukraine – read

How to Talk About War: Crisis Communications in Tech – read

How Poland’s Startup Ecosystem Supports Ukraine – read

Use of photogrammetry during war: keeping evidence and cultural landmarks – read

Vlad Kytainyk, founder of KITRUM: “For the whole world, Ukraine became the synonym for heroism and courage” – read

Featured Articles via global media

• Emerging Europe: Ukraine takes centre stage at Davos, sets out vision of digital future – read
• TechCrunch: Key European tech founders and investors launch OneUkraine charity to assist Ukraine – read
• VICE: Ukraine Is Using Quiet Electric Bikes to Haul Anti-Tank Weapons – read
• Sifted: The Ukrainians fighting the country’s information war – read
• Foreign Affairs: Ukraine’s Digital Fight Goes Global – read
• Financial Times: Young entrepreneurs pivot to battle on Ukraine’s economic frontline – read
• Reuters: The cyber war between Ukraine and Russia: An overview – read
• WIRED: How Starlink Scrambled to Keep Ukraine Online – read
• 150sec: Economic war in Ukraine – Meet the fintech startup fighting to save Ukrainian small business – read
• BestStartup.eu: Saving the Planet From Plastic Pollution With Eco-friendly Disposables – read
• Tech.eu: Ukraine’s Everstake enlists Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov in further Aid for Ukraine crypto donations appeal – read
• The Washington Post: Inside Ukraine’s new start-up life: Hallways, closets, bunkers – read
• Fast Company: For this CEO, taking a trip to Ukraine now is personal and professional – read
• The Statesman: “The Russians didn’t expect it”: Ukraine drones unit is the new face of warfare – read

Podcasts

• Podcast by Ukrainian Weekly & Mike Buryk with Natalie Jaresko talks about what it will take to rebuild Ukraine – listen
• DOU Podcast: how Ukrainian IT operating in wartime – listen

 

Via TechUkraine, NYT, Emerging Europe, WIRED, TechCrunch, Forbes, Bloomberg, Sifted, VICE, Reuters, TNW, TIME, WSJ, DW, BestStartups.eu., DOU, dev.ua, SPEKA, AIN, UBN, Vector, Speka, The Kyiv Independent, etc

Read the first wartime edition here

Read the second wartime edition here

You can donate to TechUkraine here.

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