Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (UVCA) together with the Ukrainian Startup Fund held in Kyiv the meeting dedicated to the results of the joint mission at the world’s most influential technological event Consumer Electronics Show 2024 which took place from 9 to 12 January 2024 in Las Vegas, USA. Ukraine was represented there by twelve startups with solutions in MedTech, Agritech, Human Management, Robotics and IoT, and Logistics.
The work of the Ukrainian Trade Mission at CES 2024 proved to be a great success for the Ukrainian tech ecosystem, providing opportunities for potential collaborations between Ukrainian innovators and global leaders. It showcased the strength of the national technological sector to the global technological ecosystem. One of the biggest achievements of this year is the potential for strengthening European innovation through collaboration with Ukrainian tech startups within a joint European exhibition pavilion at CES in 2025-2026.
Among milestones of the Ukrainian startups at CES 2024:
- CheckEye, an AI-enabled platform for the mass screening of chronic diseases, has secured a preliminary agreement for joint testing with LG Nova. The innovative department at LG has shown potential interest in the technology and will discuss future tests post-exhibition. Additionally, there are several potential pilot partnerships in consideration.
- Deus Robotics, warehouse automation with intelligent robots, garnered interest from several potential clients who requested a detailed analysis of their solution and expressed interest in possible investments.
- InVisionaryBox, an interactive solution for increasing customer attention to the brand through gamified augmented reality scenarios, won a pitch competition at the Japanese pavilion.
- Valerii Iakovenko, the visionary behind FarmFleet – an online platform revolutionizing business operations for drone spraying and agricultural services – participated as a featured guest on the Tech Podcasts Network. This media platform, affiliated with the Consumer Technology Association, producers of CES, showcased Valerii’s interview and FarmFleet presentation, leaving audiences truly moved and inspired.
Also, this year Ukrainian startups participated in the CES Innovation Awards. It’s an annual competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products. Three startups from Ukraine were selected as winners:
- OptySun – a fully autonomous device for rapid water purification and disinfection anywhere.
- Knopka – advanced call system for hospitals and care homes.
- Esper Bionics – bionic forearm-level hand prosthetics for both civilians and militaries. Remarkably, by the close of 2022, the Esper Bionics prosthetic device had earned the distinguished honor of being featured on the cover of TIME magazine as one of the best innovations of the year.
Startups that previously took part in Ukraine’s trade mission at the Consumer Electronics Show are also displaying positive dynamics in the following period:
- SolarPlex, solar panel hybridization, after participating at CES 2023 secured a $5,000 grant, which was invested in filing a patent application. They upgraded their technology, participated in numerous tech events in Europe, and joined the green incubator in Berlin.
- rekava, eco-friendly candles made in containers of recycled coffee grounds, after CES 2023, secured a grant funding of $50,000, which facilitated the acquisition of production equipment. As a result, they expanded the production volumes of rekava candles (decorative aroma candles in biodegradable containers made from coffee grounds) threefold and initiated their international sales. Simultaneously, they are close to launching a small-batch production of rekava cups – single-use, biodegradable cups made from coffee grounds.
- After CES 2023, WheelKeep secured an angel investment of $25,000, registered a legal entity in the Netherlands, attended Eurobike 2023, conducted pilot testing with bike retailers in the Netherlands, and garnered Letters of Intent (LOIs) from five B2B clients, including wholesalers and OEMs.
Since 2017, the Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (UVCA) has introduced Ukrainian startups to the global tech scene and markets showcasing the newest technologies from Ukraine and promoting its potential and investment opportunities.
More to come!
The Trade Mission was organized by the Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (UVCA) together with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Startup Fund with the support of the USAID Competitive Economy Program. The mission information support is provided by TechUkraine.
