On 16 September, 1991 Ventures, together with the British Consulate in New York, hosted a private salon designed to strengthen and expand the UK–Ukraine TechBridge partnership. The gathering brought together UK and U.S. investors, senior policymakers, and leading voices from Ukraine’s tech ecosystem to forge new relationships, share insights, and explore cross-market opportunities.
The evening opened with a simple but powerful premise: Ukraine is not only defending its sovereignty — it is building Europe’s most resilient tech hub. Operating under wartime conditions has produced a generation of founders who innovate with extraordinary speed, adaptability and technical depth. These strengths are showing up in fast-rising startups across defense tech, cybersecurity, logistics, AI, energy transition, and more. Yet despite global recognition of Ukrainian engineering talent, U.S. investors still have limited exposure to the scale of innovation happening inside Ukraine. Success stories of Ukrainian-founded startups are often viewed as exceptional rather than representative of a rapidly evolving ecosystem. Changing that perception and unlocking U.S. participation was a key objective of the event.
Ukraine’s tech sector was one of Europe’s fastest-growing before the full-scale invasion. Now Ukraine has become Europe’s ultimate stress-tested tech hub. Founders are building under real-time pressures that force problem-solving in ways rarely seen elsewhere. One of the strongest points of discussion was the rapidly evolving defense tech landscape. What makes Ukrainian defense tech unique is battlefield-tested IPs and an active feedback loop between engineers and real-time conditions on the front line.
“Battlefield data is one of the most valuable assets Ukraine can offer the world,” Denis Gursky emphasized. “Engineers are iterating at a pace dictated by real-world conditions, and that level of insight is irreplaceable. These solutions are validated not just in labs and simulations, but also in real operations.”
Building the London–Kyiv–New York Tech Corridor
Ukraine’s future growth will be is fueled and defined not only by technology, but by the partnerships that connect it to global markets. At 1991 Ventures, our mission is to bridge London, Kyiv, and New York into a single ecosystem where ideas, talent, and capital move together. The salon’s panel, “Ukraine’s Tech Corridor: From Defence to AI to Energy Transition,” explored precisely this opportunity.
Since the full-scale invasion, the UK has provided substantial support to Ukrainian start-up founders and continues to expand this assistance through initiatives such as the UK-Ukraine TechBridge. UK-Ukraine TechBridge Investment Accelerator implemented by 1991 Ventures is an example of projects reshaping how global investors engage with Ukraine. By providing a structured pathway into the market from cross-border regulatory guidance to curated investor introductions,TechBridge and its partners are lowering the barriers that have historically kept international capital at a distance. What remains essential now is the participation of the U.S. ecosystem as the ultimate scale for any high-growth startup still lies in the U.S market.
As more U.S. investors gain visibility of Ukrainian innovation, whether in battlefield-tested defense technologies, frontier AI, cybersecurity, or next-generation energy infrastructure, the perception of Ukraine is beginning to shift. No longer viewed solely through the lens of conflict, Ukraine is emerging as a source of investable solutions, IP, and high-performing companies capable of competing on the global stage.
We extend our sincere gratitude to the British Consulate in New York for hosting this salon and for their continued leadership in the UK–Ukraine partnership. And to every speaker, investor, and partner who joined us: thank you for contributing to a meaningful discussion about the future of Ukraine’s tech ecosystem.
