The initiative will be coordinated on the Ukrainian side by the Brave1 platform, according to Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.
The core objective of BraveTech EU is to jointly identify and develop defense technologies with the potential to influence the course of the war. Ukraine and the EU plan to mobilize €100 million in funding, with each party contributing half. This marks the first major tech alliance of its kind between Ukraine and the EU.
BraveTech EU will include:
- Hackathons for companies and testing of their solutions
- Grant support for defense startups
- Integration of Ukrainian defense technologies into the European market
- Joint development of battlefield technology solutions
The initiative will be coordinated on the EU side by the European Defence Innovation Office (EUDIO), based in Kyiv. Funding will come from the European Defence Fund and the EU Defence Innovation Scheme.
The project will be implemented in two phases:
- Seed phase (Autumn 2025): Hackathons and ecosystem-building among startups, investors, and companies
- Scale-up phase (2026): Attracting additional funding to scale developed solutions
Brave1 is already the largest venture investor in Ukraine’s defense sector, having awarded over 550 grants totaling more than UAH 2.2 billion. In June, the platform launched Brave1 Club — an initiative for companies and manufacturers to join the defense innovation ecosystem without the need for grant support.
