Three startups from Ukraine and Europe—Obriy AI, Itera, and citytax UAB—have been selected to pilot digital solutions for public services under GovTech Lab Ukraine, the country’s first open innovation program for the public sector. Each team will receive up to USD 100,000 to implement and test their solutions in partnership with Ukrainian government institutions.
Ukraine’s public sector is accelerating its digital transformation. By enabling government institutions to work directly with startups, GovTech Lab Ukraine aims to design and test digital solutions before scaling them. This approach helps “reduce the risks of large-scale digital projects, accelerates innovation cycles, and allows both public institutions and technology companies to develop solutions grounded in real operational needs”.
Following a rigorous Demo Day where seven startups pitched their concepts, an Advisory Board evaluated the projects based on technical robustness, scalability, value for money, and how effectively they “addressed a real public-sector problem”.
Here are the three winners moving forward to pilot their solutions.
1. Automated Legal Assistance (Obriy AI)
Public Sector Partner: Ministry of Justice of Ukraine
Ukrainian enterprise AI developer Obriy AI will deploy its SURE platform to support the Free Legal Aid service. The system utilizes AI agents capable of understanding legal intent and instantly retrieving data from knowledge bases to assist operators. Designed with strict security and data-governance compliance, this pilot aims to “reduce workload for legal aid staff, improve response times, and ensure more consistent service delivery”.
2. Data-Driven Tourism Management (citytax UAB)
Public Sector Partner: State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine
Lithuanian GovTech startup citytax UAB is building a digital platform to streamline accommodation registration and tourist-tax administration. By introducing AI-based screening and standardized identifiers, the platform will help authorities flag unregistered properties and boost compliance. The system is built to align with European regulatory requirements, ensuring “scalable implementation beyond the pilot stage”.
3. Transparent Urban Development (Itera)
Public Sector Partner: State Inspectorate of Architecture and Urban Planning of Ukraine
Nordic software company Itera, leveraging its strong Ukrainian team, will introduce an AI-powered system to automate the extraction and verification of construction documentation. By performing automated compliance checks and introducing “auditable workflows and role-based dashboards”, the solution is set to drastically improve transparency and efficiency in how construction permits are processed and issued.
What’s Next: The 12-Week Sprint
The selection marks the beginning of the program’s most critical phase. Over the next 12 weeks, the winning startups will embed themselves with their government partners to deploy these pilots in real-world environments. The goal is to generate “practical evidence on effectiveness, usability, and scalability”, giving public institutions the data they need to make informed decisions about future scaling.
Disclaimer: GovTech Lab Ukraine is implemented by the Global Government Technology Centre (GGTC) Kyiv in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the World Economic Forum, and with the support of Switzerland within the EGAP Program (carried out by East Europe Foundation). Support for specific challenges is provided by Mastercard and East Europe Foundation, with infrastructure resources provided by De Novo.
