Winners of Defence Builder’s second batch: three Ukrainian startups awarded $30,000 each

On July 15, the Ukrainian defence tech accelerator Defence Builder held a demo day, marking the conclusion of its second startup batch. Nine teams successfully completed the acceleration programme and delivered final pitches to investors, government officials, and military units. Three startups that demonstrated the most progress over the four-month programme received $30,000 each from the organisers and sponsors.

In the Rising Force category, the winner was Barvinok-5, a team developing a video module for drones. Their goal is to replace analogue video on FPV drones with a high-quality digital system. The project is currently at the MVP stage, with plans to assemble the first 100 working modules in Q3, begin integration with drone manufacturers, and conduct frontline testing. According to Defence Builder CEO Kateryna Bezsudna, this team entered the accelerator with virtually nothing and made remarkable progress in just four months.

An earlier product from the team, the BarvinokLRS control module, is already being used by military units. Together with the video module, it will form a comprehensive communication system for drones, the team says. Barvinok-5 is currently seeking $300,000 in investment to launch mass production.

In the Military Choice Solution category, the winner was Coalas, which also received $30,000. The company develops telemetry systems for FPV drones and unmanned ground vehicles. Coalas’ radio control systems reduce the risk of losing drones under enemy EW interference and extend their operational range. The company has already deployed its systems on over 10,000 drones and is now seeking $600,000 in investment for R&D, scaling, marketing, and equipment.

The Startup of the Batch award, based on the best feedback from the accelerator team, went to Strug, which is building an unmanned boat designed to carry FPV drones. The vessel has a tactical range of 240 km, enabling it to deliver attack drones to the shores of occupied Crimea. The team has already released a pilot batch of six boats and plans to deliver them to military units. Strug is seeking $500,000 in investment, but for now, has received $30,000 from Defence Builder and demo day sponsors.

On July 15, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence announced the launch of its own accelerator programme for military AI startups. Applications are open until August 15, with a total prize pool of $1 million to be equally distributed among the top four participating teams.