Ukrainian startup Vigilant Works raises investment from Angel One: what it is working on

Ukrainian defence tech startup Vigilant Works has secured investment from venture capital fund Angel One. While the financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed, the investment is in line with Angel One’s typical cheque size of $150,000–200,000. Defender Media learned more about the deal and the startup’s technology from the fund and Vigilant Works CEO Danylo Korohodskyi.

Vigilant Works is developing an autonomous ecosystem for countering drones. Its products include radar solutions, the Algiz-1 interceptor drone and software for radar and visual guidance.

The radar is being developed for use on a mothership drone together with interceptor drones. “The development includes our own microwave component, which we are developing together with Dutch partners, and an additional guidance element on the drone itself,” says the CEO. They plan to move to the first tests in 3-4 months.

Meanwhile, the interceptor drone has already undergone combat trials. The Algiz-1 has a speed of 350 km/h and will receive a modification with a speed of up to 450 km/h in 1.5 months. It can carry a payload of 1.2 kg, has day and night cameras, analogue and digital communication options, and its own ground station. Korogodskyi adds that they are also finishing a remote version without a separate ground station.

The team is already working on the next version of the drone – the Algiz-2, which will be able to reach speeds of over 600 km/h.

The investment raised will go towards developing autonomy technologies, creating radar solutions and scaling operational work. The company previously also received a grant under the EU4UA Defence Tech programme for the development of the Algiz-2.

Angel One CEO Ivan Petrenko says the fund was drawn to the startup by its own autonomy stack, combat-proven technology and a product capable of scaling. “Vigilant Works is turning counter-drone defence from a reactive process into an autonomous system – from target detection to interception,” he adds.

For Angel One, this is its fourth investment in the defence sector this year. The fund has previously invested in the startups DoD Solution and Deftak. The former develops autonomy modules, while the latter produces munitions for drones that use machine vision for guidance. Details of another investment have not yet been disclosed.