Ukrainian founders are building world-class technology under the hardest conditions imaginable. We back these entrepreneurs whose innovations defend lives, rebuild critical systems, and set new global standards for resilience.
Investing where it really matters. in Ukrainian technology. in European resilience.
MOTANKA is a venture fund that invests in Ukrainian entrepreneurs building intelligent systems designed to protect societies in the face of asymmetric threats.
Building something that matters?
OUR MISSION
Scaling High-Impact Ukrainian Technology Worldwide
Motanka is a pan-European venture capital fund investing in high-impact Ukrainian technologies proven in real-world war conditions. We scale these breakthroughs globally by connecting Ukrainian founders with European capital, markets, and industrial partners.
”Ukraine is showing the world that resilience is not built in comfort. It is built when institutions, people, and innovation are tested to their limits. What Ukraine is doing today will shape Europe’s security, economy, and technological future for decades to come.
Kaja KallasVice-President of the European Commission
MOTANKA CONNECTS
We aim to connect Ukrainian innovations with Europe’s needs.
🇺🇦 In Ukraine
We work with the full resilience technology ecosystem: founders, end-users in Armed Forces of Ukraine and other sectors, NGOs, R&D teams and government; we know what works and what doesn’t.
🇪🇺 In the European Union
We partner with defence tech companies, OEM’s, knowledge institutions, regional, national and European institutions such as the EIF, NIF and BOM, government, ministries of defence and armed forces.
Why Founders Choose Us
We help Ukrainian teams turning proven technology into European-scale companies. We help navigating manufacturing, compliance, partnerships, and global adoption. Motanka is the bridge between Ukrainian ingenuity and European security.
WHO WE INVEST IN
Ukrainian Mission-Driven Tech Founders
Motanka is a Series-A venture fund, that backs Ukrainian mission-driven founders who have a proven solution ready for European scale up. Their solutions will contribute to Europe’s resilience and security until long after this war will end. The founders we invest in have a clear purpose: to defend or rebuild society to make it more resilient.
WHY UKRAINE, WHY NOW?
Ukraine offers the World’s Most Relentless Tech Feedback Loop.
Before the large-scale war, Ukrainians have built and co-founded global platforms such as WhatsApp, PayPal, GitLab, and Revolut. When the full-scale war began, this talent didn’t disappear but was redirected. Engineers who once built global systems now build technology that protects a country.
Right now, in Ukraine, we are at an inflection point. Problems are real, urgent, and visible. The speed of iteration is unseen anywhere in the world: solutions are tested in the field, refined and adopted within days. This makes Ukraine the most dynamic tech environment in the world.
WHERE WE INVEST IN
4 Core Investment Verticals
Autonomy
Autonomous drones (air, ground, maritime), ISTAR, mission execution, swarming and edge AI.
Control
GNSS-denied navigation and positioning, EW-resilient communications, Multi-sensor fusion (thermal, RF, acoustic, optical), Signal intelligence and spectrum dominance tools.
Protection
cUAS, counter-EW, counter-missile, perimeter defense. Counter-drone and early warning, civil defense systems, battlefield and emergency medicine, de-mining and UXO detection, personal protection.
Security
Cyber defense and threat detection, secure communications, OSINT and intelligence platforms, data fusion and decision support, anti-disinformation, infrastructure monitoring, Communications resilience (mesh networks, fallback systems)
OUR TEAM
MOTANKA was founded out of direct support initiatives in Ukraine
Since the start of the large-scale war, founders of MOTANKA participated in the development of new technologies that are invaluable for Ukrainian society.
Anna Kuznetsova
Partner
Internationally trained lawyer and venture executive with experience at Baker McKenzie and senior leadership roles across investment banking and e-commerce, bridging legal strategy, technology, and venture capital.
Filipp Peresadilo
Partner
Strategy-driven technologist with advanced degrees in econometrics, data science, and finance, quantum ML hackathon winner, background as tech lead in autonomous UXV systems with a and data engineering in M&A.
Dirck Smits van Oyen
Partner
Long-standing Ukraine-based operator and investor with 26 years of market experience across FMCG, DIY, and Agri, founder of ProMarketing, co-founder of Protect Ukraine, and active participant in the defence sector since 2022.
Robert Jan Galema
Partner
Veteran VC and PE investor, former Managing Partner of Inkef Capital and Investment Director at Nesbic, with deep board experience including defence tech and early-stage scaling success such as GitLab.
THE NEXT STEPS
Enough Talk, Let's Build Something Together
Motanka is based in Amsterdam and Kyiv
For Investors
We welcome conversations with LPs who believe Ukraine’s ingenuity and Europe’s security are inseparable. Contact us for a full discussion and data-room access.
For Founders
If you are building technology that protects, rebuilds, recovers, or advances society, reach out. We move fast, and we’re here to help you scale.
For Partners
We love to get in touch with partners and supporters who feel they can contribute to our mission to scale Ukrainian ingenuity in Europe.