Swedish investment group Varangians closes €10m fund to back Ukrainian defence tech

The Swedish investment group Varangians has closed a €10 million fund, EU-Startups reports. Speaking to Defender Media, Varangians co-founder Pär Lager said the capital will be invested in Ukrainian defence tech companies. The group has already completed four investments and expects to close two more deals by the end of the summer.

New investments are planned to be announced during the Iron Demo and Defense Tech Valley events. Later, Varangians intend to make a further 3-5 investments under the fund. Pär Lager says they are interested in investing in unmanned systems across all domains, drone components, EW of various kinds, mining and demining solutions, and intelligence solutions.

The group’s team is talking to Ukrainian servicemen and cluster representatives to monitor real needs. The co-founder adds that among the Varangians’ goals is to invest in solutions that can rapidly support Ukraine in the war, as well as to support Europe’s rearmament through cooperation with Ukrainian companies.

The launch of Varangians was announced by Swedish businessmen Pär Lager, Andreas Flodström, and Jonas Rydin in June 2025. This is the first investment company in Sweden investing money exclusively in Ukrainian defence startups. At the same time, the founders consider the main indicator of success not the group’s financial performance but the impact of investments on Ukraine’s defence capability.

Currently, the Varangians’ portfolio already includes four Ukrainian companies:

• Himera – developer of a secure communications system;
• Sine Engineering – creates a communications and positioning platform for UAVs in challenging conditions;
• NORDA Dynamics – developer of autonomous systems for UAVs;
• An unnamed company manufacturing UAVs, UGVs and drone components.

According to Lager, they are also considering follow-on investments in these developers.