Ukrainian defense tech entrepreneurs pitched Silicon Valley investors at the Ukrainian consulate in San Francisco earlier this month at an event designed to facilitate deeper connections between the two communities.
Over the past decade, the Ukrainian tech community in Silicon Valley has experienced a notable surge in entrepreneurs and IT specialists. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, even more have flocked to the Bay Area in an effort to contribute to their homeland’s defense efforts.
The Ukrainian Defense Tech Night was designed to coordinate efforts and was billed as the first gathering specifically for military experts, tech entrepreneurs, U.S. investors and nonprofit leaders in Ukrainian defense in the area.
“I’m glad to see a lot of those faces, and they’re very active,” said Dmytro Kushneruk, Ukraine’s consul general in San Francisco. “They have lots of new energy and new experience, which they bring from Ukraine. Some even have experience from the battlefield and we are connecting them with people here in Silicon Valley and building this new ecosystem.”
The event, at the end of San Francisco’s Tech Week, was organized by UkraineNow, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting Ukraine’s culture, innovation, and international partnerships, and Victoria, which merges startup incubation with venture capital.
Roughly 150 venture capitalists, military defense experts and young engineers poured into the presentation hall, leaving many attendees standing due to the high turnout.
Speakers addressed the challenges facing the Ukrainian defense sector and highlighted the need for private sector involvement and volunteers. The speakers stressed the importance of building sustainable supply chains and strategic alliances with global partners. They also pushed the need for venture capital to fuel defense innovation.
Three Ukrainian-founded startups—Bavovna.ai, Mara, and Moodro.Tech—demonstrated their drone-related technologies.
Held in October, just weeks before the U.S. presidential election, attendees also urged Americans not to abandon Ukraine.
“Regardless of how people would like to vote, or for whom, they should vote for the fact that the United States will remain a leader in the world. There is no place for isolationism,” Gauthier Vasseur, French-American executive director of the Berkeley Fisher Center for Business Analytics, said.
Ukrainian-American Alexander Ravski, a corporate attorney and a key organizer of the event, urged, “Don’t wait for the elections; help Ukraine now.” But what does that help look like?
“Use your unique skills,” Ravski advised. “If you’re an engineer at a tech company and you know how to develop a certain technology or software, there are companies in Ukraine that need your skill set. There’s bridges to be rebuilt. There’s roads to be rebuilt, schools. If you’re an education organization and you’re able to build a school, donate for a school, then work in that avenue. If you’re a car manufacturer, you can build an assembly line for car parts.”
“Money is important. Smart money is important,” he added. “There are startups that need funding. There are resources that need to be paid for.”
