{"id":6546,"date":"2025-07-03T14:17:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T11:17:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/?post_type=insights&p=6546"},"modified":"2026-04-23T17:07:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:07:07","slug":"presto-tech-horizon-interview","status":"publish","type":"insights","link":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/insights\/presto-tech-horizon-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Ukrainian startups are on Presto Tech Horizon\u2019s radar for next-gen defence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A year ago, European venture firm Presto Ventures and Czech industrial giant CSG joined forces to launch the Presto Tech Horizons fund. They’re raising \u20ac150 million to invest in startups, with an emphasis on defence tech and related sectors. Within a year, the fund backed four projects \u2014 two of them Ukrainian defence tech startups. At Defender Media\u2019s request, columnist Bojan Stojkovski spoke with Presto Ventures resilience investor Matej Luhovy about what it takes to get on the fund\u2019s radar.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presto Tech Horizons is betting big on the future of defence and dual-use technologies across NATO countries and their allies \u2014 including Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launched through a strategic partnership between venture capital firm Presto Ventures and industrial powerhouse Czechoslovak Group (CSG), the \u20ac150 million fund aims to become one of the largest in the world focused on security and defence tech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a sharp focus on defence solutions, Presto Tech Horizons is backing companies that enhance not just state and institutional security, but also personal safety and data privacy. The ticket sizes range from \u20ac500K to \u20ac5M, with a sweet spot around \u20ac2M, as they tell Defender Media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year since its inception, the fund has already welcomed its first four portfolio companies: Ukrainian Vidar Systems<\/a>, known for its portable acoustic locators; Ukrainian Bavovna.ai, a hybrid AI platform for autonomous drone navigation; BlueQubit, a platform for running quantum simulations; and DiffuseDrive, redefining physical AI for automotive, aerospace, defence, and robotics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read more:<\/strong> The man fighting Russian disinformation with data, irony, and viral memes. Interview with Marijn Markus <\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

During the recent Invest in Bravery conference in Kyiv Defender Media spoke with Matej Luhovy, resilience investor at Presto Ventures, about what the fund is looking for in Ukrainian defence tech \u2014 and why regional startups are drawing serious interest despite the many obstacles they face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defender Media: It\u2019s been almost a year since Presto Tech Horizons launched, how satisfied are you with initial investments that the fund made?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Matej Luhovy: <\/strong>The partnership is very unique in the VC world, as a joint venture between Presto and the Czechoslovak Group (CSG), one of Europe\u2019s fastest growing primes. The venture capital scene is super competitive, and there are great VC firms out there. There\u2019s more and more funding, and if you want to really stand out, access the best deals, and attract the most promising startups, you need to create the best possible product for them, deliver the most value.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Matej Luhovy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We are a venture fund, and our joint venture model allows our portfolio companies to scale, gain access to asymmetric information, and explore potential resale opportunities. So it\u2019s very practical and valuable for startups, for sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea is that, together with CSG, we can bring basically unmatched opportunities and benefits to our portfolio companies. We can open doors for defence-focused startups, in terms of business and government relationships, contacts, and even further R&D. This will give the companies credibility with defence customers, essential for securing those first contracts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How happy are we? So far, we\u2019ve announced four investments, and we have a couple of great investments lined up where the potential for partnership makes a lot of sense. More aligned spaces would be, historically, electronic warfare, radars, and software development kits for quantum technologies. Now we\u2019re looking again into space tech \u2014 developing command and control systems, electronic warfare solutions, and counter-unmanned aerial vehicle systems. These are some of the key areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The overall thesis of the fund is resilience \u2014 defence and aerospace, especially given what\u2019s happening in the U.S. You\u2019re seeing increased reliance on key markets. Take semiconductors: the entire industry is very interesting right now. There\u2019s a new wave of innovation in how semiconductors are built. A few companies are working on major new approaches, some adjusted for AI, others experimenting with new printing methods and wafer frames. It\u2019s all very interesting \u2014 and also closely tied to sovereignty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the hot topics of the past year is dual-use technology. What\u2019s your take on it?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

About 95% of the defence hardware deals we look into need to have some potential application in the commercial space, because otherwise, the opportunity wouldn’t be big enough.. If you\u2019re building a horizontal application startup, it needs to also be deployable in commercial settings. So it is critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases, it might be unnatural to force such applications, and I would say the term is overused in the sense that everyone\u2019s doing \u201cdual-use\u201d now. Some are starting to openly say \u201cdefence\u201d, which might be healthier and more appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read more:<\/strong> Ukrainian defence tech innovators tap into western dual-use markets<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Is the perspective changing? Possibly \u2014 especially now with developments in the U.S. I feel like the sentiment is shifting a bit with every passing month. It’s difficult to navigate. Some banks used to consider dual-use as ESG or impact investing, and that may change in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d say the narrative is also being dictated by the movements of the European Commission. There’s even talk about having a unified procurement system. So things are definitely moving in a broader direction \u2014 more acceptance of dual-use tech in that sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few years ago, defence used to be a \u2018nasty\u2019 word. But now, unfortunately, if you look at it through the lens of game theory, you realize that you need to have some defence \u2014 otherwise you risk being occupied or attacked. If you don\u2019t invest in defence and don\u2019t prioritize resilience in your budgets, you\u2019re perceived as weak and vulnerable. It would be lovely if we didn\u2019t need weapons \u2014 but unfortunately, that\u2019s human nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What stood out to you last year as particularly impressive from Ukrainian defence efforts?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When you invest in a company\u2014let\u2019s say they\u2019re building AI agents for models or whatever\u2014you ask them what motivates them, why they founded the company, and why they want to build it. You look for resilience in their approach, so you know they won\u2019t give up and take a comfy job in five years, when things get tough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re a Ukrainian founder in defence, of course, your motivations are completely different. You want to survive. You want to win the war. That\u2019s dedication on a whole different level. And it\u2019s crucial\u2014because in the early stages, talent and motivation are everything. That\u2019s what really matters. So this is a huge plus when it comes to the attractiveness of Ukrainian companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Matej Luhovy on a panel discussion at the Invest in Bravery conference in Kyiv<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to tech, I would still say it\u2019s more of a bet on the founder and the belief that they\u2019ll learn and grow. Because, quite frankly, if we compare hardware companies\u2014what\u2019s being built in the U.S. versus in Ukraine\u2014it\u2019s still not at the top level. What is<\/em> top level, for sure, is communication and electronic warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What specific areas of Ukrainian defence tech do you find most promising right now, and where do you see the greatest potential for future growth?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

So, for example, the way Ukrainian drones communicate with ground stations, the mechanisms they use to avoid jamming, and the location systems that prevent drones from crashing when jammed\u2014these are areas where Ukraine might be the number one manufacturer of such technologies in the world. We\u2019re actively looking into those.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of talent, yes, there is talent, but it\u2019s also quite expensive and hard to finance. We see companies with similar founder quality and similar tech in the U.S. receiving four to five times more investment than their counterparts in Ukraine. Yet Ukrainian companies are often more resourceful. Regarding possible investments, there are multiple companies that we are currently looking into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s tough, it takes time, but the potential is there. Some of the companies we\u2019re particularly interested in are working on laser-based counter-UAV systems\u2014capable of taking down rockets, missiles, and drones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What else might be interesting? Cheap cruise missiles could be an area to watch. We\u2019ve seen a few companies that started with strike drones and are now shifting into that space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bojan Stojkovski<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bojan Stojkovski is a freelance journalist. Based in Skopje, North Macedonia, he reports on technology, science, and environmental issues, as well as post-war societies in the Western Balkan countries. His work has been featured in Foreign Policy, WSJ, ZDNET, New Eastern Europe, and Interesting Engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n