Three days left: Brave1 accepting applications for the Battle Proven defence startup competition until July 25

In mid-September, the defence tech cluster Brave1 will host the Brave1 Defense Tech Valley 2025 investment summit in Lviv. A key part of the summit’s agenda is the Battle Proven competition for defence startups. The Brave1 team has announced that applications for the contest will be accepted until 25 July.

From the submitted applications, the organisers will select 30 teams to pitch their technologies to the largest gathering of specialised investors, with opportunities for scaling up and a chance to compete for a prize fund.

The competition is divided into three categories:

• Trail Blazers – for pre-seed startups with strong potential;
• Gamechangers – for products already being used on the battlefield;
• Power Players – for technologies that make a daily impact on the course of the war.

The prize pool is supported by Ukrainian and international defence companies including Tekever, Quantum Systems, and Athlon Avia. While the exact amount of the fund is not yet disclosed, Brave1 notes that the list of partners is expected to grow.

Applications can be submitted via the official competition page.