Front Ventures raises €5M to back defence tech innovation in Ukraine

Stockholm-based
defence-focused investment company Front Ventures has raised €5 million through
an oversubscribed rights issue of B-shares, with the raise subscribed to 278
per cent. The company backs early-stage defence technology companies developing
operationally relevant systems in Ukraine and Sweden.

The round included
participation from all major shareholders, including CEO Jonas Malmgren and
board member and former CEO Johan Lund, alongside new investor Roglar Holding,
which brings production and industrial expertise. APREA Partners AB acted as
financial advisor, Advokatfirman Lindahl KB as legal advisor, and Aqurat
Fondkommission AB served as lead manager for the rights issue.

Front Ventures invests
across software, drone systems, communications, and critical defence supply
chains, with a particular focus on companies that have already developed
working prototypes and are ready to scale. The company aims to bridge the gap
between battlefield-tested Ukrainian innovation and access to European and NATO
industrial partnerships.

Its portfolio includes:

• SkyHunter – which develops target allocation solutions for drone interceptors,
• Aeromotors – a Ukrainian manufacturer of drone propulsion systems supplying
  NATO-aligned markets, and
• Kyiv-based Black Forest Systems – developer of the SHADOX
  infantry drone system.

Front Ventures is also an approved investor in Brave1,
the Ukrainian government’s defence tech platform connecting innovators with
investors and the military.

Jonas Malmgren, CEO of
Front Ventures, said:

We’re seeing a
generation of defence companies that have effectively skipped the lab phase
because their products have already been tested in operational environments.
The challenge is no longer innovation itself, but scaling and industrialising
these technologies quickly enough. This raise is intended to help accelerate
that process.

Founded in 2012, Front
Ventures previously invested in fintech, enterprise software, and blockchain
companies before shifting its strategic focus toward defence technology.
Investment sizes from the current raise are expected to range between €200,000
and €2.5 million per company.

With the new funding in place, Front Ventures plans
to expand its defence technology portfolio across Ukraine and Sweden, focusing
on companies developing technologies in areas such as drones, communications,
software, and critical supply chains.