Following its launch in December 2023, the Seeds of Bravery (UASEEDs) project has officially concluded its two-year mandate. Funded by the European Union via the European Innovation Council (EIC), the €20 million initiative served as a primary bridge between the Ukrainian deep tech ecosystem and the broader European market.
The project focused on providing non-dilutive funding, mentorship, and market access to startups operating under extreme volatility.
Capital Allocation and Direct Funding
The core of the project was a €12.2 million grant pool distributed among 318 Ukrainian startups. Beyond direct equity-free funding, the program focused on preparing early-stage companies for Series A and institutional investment.
Total Grant Funding: €12.2 million.
Investment Readiness: 5 dedicated programs for 60 selected startups.
EIC Participation: 163 startups applied for EIC grant programs; two companies, HYDRATICO and S-Lab, secured wins via the Women TechEU initiative.
Deep Tech Focus: 63 startups completed the Deep Tech Accelerator, while 79 participated in the Deep & Digital Tech Booster.
Market Access and International Integration
UASEEDs aimed to solve the “isolation” problem of the Ukrainian ecosystem by facilitating physical and regulatory entry into the EU.
Market Research: 20 programs covering 37 countries; 2,870 startups attended market discovery workshops.
Demo Days: 25 events held across 24 countries, involving 290 startups.
Networking: 619 matchmaking sessions were organized, resulting in 580+ verified connections between founders and European VCs/corporates.
Logistics: Provided access to 61 co-working spaces across Europe and issued 541 UA Tech Tickets for major international tech conferences.
Education and Ecosystem Development
The project also addressed the talent and regulatory gap, focusing on legal compliance and entrepreneurship for scientists.
Legal Support: 97 pro-bono consultations regarding EU company registration for 202 participants.
Entrepreneurship: Two specialized programs, Science2Business and the Entrepreneurship Summer School, trained 236 scientists. Notably, 20% of these participants have already launched their own startups.
Mentorship: A network of 279 mentors supported the programs.
Female Leadership: 100 women entrepreneurs completed the Female Entrepreneurship and Leadership (FEL) program.
Partnership Network
The project was executed by a consortium of 17 partners and 2 associated entities: FundingBox, Ukrainian Startup Fund, CyberInnovate, AxisBIC, INNOV8, Institute of Physics, Accelerace, EIT Health, Luxinnovation, YEP Accelerator, Techosystem, Sunrise Tech Park, Da Vinci Labs, Impact Hub Stockholm, Vacuum Deep Tech Acceleration, Plug and Play, Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship, and Aalto University.
Final Assessment
The closure of Seeds of Bravery marks the end of one of the largest EU-funded interventions in the Ukrainian tech sector. The output — 318 funded companies and 80 documented success stories — provides a benchmark for how international grant programs can support tech ecosystems in high-risk zones. For the European VC community, the project has effectively derisked a cohort of 300+ startups, many of which are now prepared for traditional venture cycles.
