UA1 VC plans to invest $50 million in Ukrainian and U.S. defence tech startups

The founders of the U.S. fund UA1  VC plan to raise $50 million by the end of 2025, which they will direct toward investments in defence startups — primarily Ukrainian. This plan was disclosed to Tectonic and confirmed to Defender Media by the fund’s co-founder, Lenore Karafa. According to her, the founders already have $18 million in commitments.

UA1 VC is a relatively new but very active player in the market of investments in Ukrainian defence tech startups. The fund emerged from stealth mode only a few weeks ago, during the Brave1 Defence Tech Valley 2025 investment summit. On its website, the portfolio features many well-known Ukrainian projects, including Swarmer, HIMERA, Airlogix, Buntar Aerospace, and Frontline Robotics. Overall, UA1 VC has announced investments in eight projects — five Ukrainian and three American. The fund’s average check size is $300,000 to $750,000.

The fund UA1 VC was founded in 2025 by U.S. Marine Corps veterans William McNulty and Lenore Karafa. Before launching UA1 VC, McNulty spent three years assisting Ukraine through the charity White Stork. “Our mission is to transform Ukrainian frontline innovations into the arsenal of the free world,” McNulty said in his post after DTV 2025.

Karafa declined to say how much of the accumulated $18 million the fund has already invested. “I will keep that figure closed for now, since in the next 2-3 weeks it may rise significantly,” she commented. “We are actively deploying capital now, since we are planning to raise more.”

Recently, UA1 VC announced that it participated in a round of funding for U.S. startup Albacore, which raised $6.5 million.