Extreme Bootcamp for defence tech startups – the winner will receive €500,000

A five-day Extreme Bootcamp program for defence tech startups is starting in Ukraine. The three best teams will share a €1 million prize pool. The winner will receive €500,000 in investment.

Applications can be submitted until June 7 at link. According to the organizers of the Darkstar project, they are looking for ten teams that have already conducted combat tests of their products on the Ukrainian front or plan to do so within the next six months.

“We will help these teams grow, scale, and accelerate their progress,” the organizers say on their website.

The application form asks for details about the startup and why this program can help. During the camp, teams will work with the best European unicorn founders.

About Darkstar

Darkstar is a coalition of more than 20 founders, hackers and investors from Estonia, Ukraine, Germany, France and the UK, united by the goal of developing European defence technologies.

The camp is co-organized by Estonian entrepreneur Ragnar Sass. He told DOU that all partners share common values, and assured that no Russian capital was involved, and they actively support the Ukrainian army.

“It was very easy for us to get support from Estonian entrepreneurs, because russians jam GPS signals in Estonia. Defeating them is also a matter of national security for us,” he said.

The organizers are looking not only for Ukrainian startups, but also for European ones that are ready to cooperate with Ukraine and have applications on the battlefield. Ukrainian companies may also be helped to open a representative office in Estonia.

Priority is given to electronics and software technologies that can be easily scaled. According to Sass, it is not necessary to have a finished product – demo versions are also accepted.