$498 million invested in Ukrainian tech companies and two new unicorns. Highlights from Dealbook of Ukraine 2026

The investment fund AVentures Capital has published its traditional study of the venture capital and IT market in Ukraine for 2025.

In 2025, Ukrainian technology companies attracted $498 million in investments. This is 8% more than in 2024 ($462 million).

Late stages are leading the way. Series D and Growth financing rounds account for approximately 50% of total investments in 2025. 

Series A investments nearly doubled compared to 2024, accounting for 20.5% of total investments in Ukrainian technology companies.

New unicorns 

2025 was a historic year thanks to the emergence of two new companies valued at over $1 billion:

• Fintech-IT Group (Monobank). The developer of the monobank ecosystem attracted investment from UMAEF at a valuation of over $1 billion, becoming Ukraine’s first fintech unicorn.
• Preply. The EdTech platform raised $150 million in a Series D round led by WestCap, reaching a valuation of $1.2 billion.

Defense Tech

According to AVentures Capital, this sector has become the fastest-growing vertical. In 2025, the industry attracted at least $129 million in investments.

• Over the past three years, investment in Defense Tech has grown 19 times.
• Foreign investors dominate this sector, with 49% of capital coming from abroad.
• The average deal size was $2.1 million, five times more than in previous years.

Artificial intelligence

AI startups attracted 2.8 times more capital than companies without an AI component ($302 million versus $104 million). The study says that investors clearly prefer business models based on AI.

IPO and M&A

Mergers and acquisitions activity in 2025 was driven by companies expanding beyond their core businesses.

A landmark event in 2025 was the listing of telecom operator Kyivstar on the NASDAQ stock exchange, raising $178 million at a valuation of $2.3 billion. 

The company also completed the largest M&A deal of the year, acquiring the Uklon service for over $155 million.

Alternative financing

Record deals involving non-dilutive capital were noted separately (these amounts are not included in the total $498 million):

• Superhuman (Grammarly) raised over $1 billion in structured financing.
• Carmoola received debt financing of approximately $395 million.

In addition, the number of vacancies increased by 27-32% compared to 2024. The greatest demand is for specialists in the fields of Defense Tech, Hardware, and AI/ML.

Overall, Dealbook of Ukraine — 2026 states that, despite the war, the Ukrainian technology ecosystem is gradually moving into a phase of scaling and structural recovery.