Is it true that Blue Arrow, STOZHAR, Slim Beam, DroneMate AI and Zmiyar each raised $200,000 from MITS Capital?

After the IT Arena 2025 conference in Lviv, Ukrainian media outlets and social media posts reported that MITS Capital had invested $1 million into five defence startups – Blue Arrow, STOZHAR, Slim Beam, DroneMate AI and Zmiyar. Defender Media looked into whether this information is accurate.

MITS Capital told Defender Media that what was announced are soft commitments for acceleration of the mentioned startups. With a high degree of probability, these projects will join the third cohort of the MITS Accelerator, which is currently in the recruitment phase.

The open call for startups wishing to join the third cohort was announced on 2 October, with applications accepted until 15 October. The third batch is focused on Ukrainian defence tech projects developing breakthrough solutions capable of changing the landscape of modern warfare.

The acceleration programme, run by MITS in partnership with the American University Kyiv (AUK), will last six months. Selected startups will receive $100,000 in cash and an additional $100,000 worth of services.

Therefore, publications claiming that Blue Arrow, STOZHAR, Slim Beam, DroneMate AI and Zmiyar have each raised $200,000 from MITS Capital are not entirely accurate. The startups will only receive half of that in cash – and only if the investors confirm their participation in the acceleration programme.

Recently, Defender Media reported that MITS Capital took part in the $1 million investment round of NORDA Dynamics, a developer of autonomous UAV systems.