Ukrainian river drone manufacturer Hard Cat has secured a pre-seed round from Double Tap Investments

The Finnish-Ukrainian investment company Double Tap Investments (DTI) has announced an investment in the Ukrainian river drone manufacturer Hard Cat Drones. The deal was closed in early 2025 but has only been disclosed now.

DTI was the sole participant in Hard Cat Drones’ pre-seed round. The deal amount and valuation have not been disclosed, but Double Tap Investments’ typical ticket size ranges from $100,000 to $300,000.

Hard Cat Drones specialises in developing innovative unmanned systems for river and maritime operations. The team has developed a kamikaze drone, which can also be used for seabed scanning, enemy mine detection, navigation support for Ukrainian vessels, and reconnaissance. The prototype was presented in 2024 and has been tested in at least two brigades.

The parties met at IT Arena 2024, where Hard Cat Drones presented its solutions and participated in the Startup Competition.

Following the partnership with Double Tap Investments, the Hard Cat Drones developers are working on new models to expand capabilities in the military and security sectors. “Hard Cat Drones is an example of combining technological flexibility with practical application. It is quite a niche story, but very relevant both for Ukraine and for Finland,” added Jan-Erik Saarinen, CEO and co-founder of Double Tap Investments.

For Double Tap Investments, which is based in Finland and invests in Ukraine, the main sectors are defence, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. At the beginning of 2025, the fund invested in the geoinformation platform Griselda and the drone manufacturer Black Forest System.