For years, the world’s technology users relied on Ukrainian ingenuity without realising it. Grammarly corrected their grammar. GitLab managed their code. Bitfury secured their blockchains. All bore the careful disguise of international companies—overseas headquarters, foreign branding, studiously vague origin stories. When Russia’s tanks rolled into Ukraine in February 2022, the tech world discovered, often to its surprise, that many firms it had assumed were American or European were in fact deeply rooted in Ukrainian soil.
Three years into the invasion, Ukraine’s start-up ecosystem presents a paradox that defies conventional crisis management wisdom: rather than collapsing under bombardment, it is maturing. More than 56 per cent of investors have increased their engagement with Ukrainian start-ups since the war began. Nearly two-thirds believe these firms have become more sophisticated under fire. Artillery shells, it turns out, can be conducive to business development—if you survive them.
Yet for all this growth, Ukraine’s technology sector remains frustratingly difficult to measure. The country’s 2,600 active start-ups—or is it 620? Or perhaps 313?—illustrate a measurement crisis that predates the invasion but has been thrown into sharp relief by it. Different research organisations apply wildly different criteria, producing figures that vary by hundreds of percentage points for the same metrics in the same year. Without reliable data, Ukraine cannot properly benchmark its progress, identify weaknesses, or attract the support its entrepreneurs desperately need.
This is the central finding of The Uncounted Engine, a new report from Reinvantage examining Ukraine’s start-up ecosystem. The report, part of Support Digital Ukraine, an ongoing initiative by Reinvantage to document, connect, and strengthen Ukraine’s digital and entrepreneurial landscape, traces a remarkable transformation: from invisibility to visibility, from survival to maturity, from fragmented measurement to a growing demand for clarity. It reveals an ecosystem that has not merely endured wartime pressures but emerged more resilient, globally minded, and professionally run than before.
The definition dilemma
What constitutes a Ukrainian start-up? The question sounds simple. It proves fiendishly complex. In 2021, one prominent index defined Central and Eastern European start-ups using founding location and founders’ backgrounds. By 2022, it had shifted to including CEE-based companies with local headquarters and those that had relocated abroad—but excluded start-ups founded abroad by CEE nationals. The 2024 and 2025 editions swung back, broadening the definition to include any start-ups founded or based in the region, even if their headquarters had migrated to San Francisco or London.
Ukraine’s own Dealbook reports employ an entirely different standard: at least one Ukrainian co-founder and at least 30 per cent of the workforce based in Ukraine. Another index uses a case-by-case methodology based on ‘origin and operational footprint’.
These definitional gymnastics create profound chaos for analysis. Some sources report eight Ukrainian unicorns as of 2025, whilst others count only six. Funding figures vary wildly depending on how researchers categorise ‘Ukrainian’ investment. Even basic metrics like the number of new start-ups range from 313 to 2,600 for the same period, depending on which definition one applies.
The war has both helped and hindered measurement. Increased European Union funding has led to more reports being published. Companies that previously masqueraded as international have begun embracing their Ukrainian heritage with newfound pride, making them more visible to researchers. Yet the fluidity of location—with teams dispersed across Europe and founders incorporating abroad to reduce perceived risk—further complicates definitional boundaries.
Tempered by adversity
Beneath the measurement chaos lies a different story: war is sharpening entrepreneurial instincts in ways that peacetime rarely manages. Ukrainian founders have strengthened core capabilities in resilience, adaptability, and problem-solving. The crisis has honed their focus and decision-making, enabling them to set realistic goals, optimise scarce resources, and maintain clarity under pressure that would crush less determined competitors.
More than half of investors surveyed by Reinvantage have backed at least one Ukrainian start-up since the invasion, with a quarter investing in more than five. This represents not desperate charity but calculated risk-taking. Investors favour firms demonstrating international market potential and adaptability under pressure—qualities that prove their worth when the lights go out and air-raid sirens wail.
The shift is visible in how founders approach their work. Many now occupy broader, public-facing roles that go beyond business operations, reflecting a commitment to societal impact and strategic foresight. Leadership styles have become more agile, with distributed team management and cross-border coordination now central to operations.
“The active number of start-ups is growing,” notes Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine’s Vice Minister of Digital Transformation for IT Development. “Furthermore, I see fewer people who are just dreaming without knowing what they’re doing. Now, there are more people with an entrepreneurial background who say, ‘I’m going to focus and reach this goal, no matter what.'”
Sectoral transformation reflects wartime imperatives. Before the invasion, Ukrainian start-ups targeted diverse industries: IT, agriculture, fintech, e-commerce. Post-invasion, emphasis has shifted decisively towards defence technology, cybersecurity, and sectors vital for national resilience. Companies originally developing agricultural drones have pivoted to creating landmine-detection systems. Fashion brands now produce military uniforms. A health food company supplies soldiers.
The defence technology boom is particularly striking. Ukraine has become what one observer calls “a testing ground for the world’s defence tech companies”, deploying innovations in real battlefield situations at pace. The combination of exceptional engineering talent and frontline experience has propelled this sector to global prominence. These are not merely survival adaptations; they represent the development of competitive advantages that may prove durable long after the war ends.
The hidden strength
Perhaps the most unexpected transformation concerns gender dynamics. Female founders have risen to prominence partly out of necessity—many men face conscription and cannot easily travel—but also because women have demonstrated distinctive leadership qualities under pressure. Investors who work with female founders overwhelmingly praise their resilience, creativity, and team-building skills. Yet 50.9 per cent of investors have never backed a female-led start-up, with only 12.3 per cent investing in more than five. This represents squandered talent at a time when every entrepreneur matters.
The internationalisation imperative has accelerated dramatically. With domestic demand constrained, start-ups are increasingly targeting global markets from inception rather than treating international expansion as a later-stage consideration. Nearly two-thirds of investors emphasise start-ups’ need for support in funding, international collaboration, and foreign market expansion.
Many founders now hire abroad, attract international investors, and incorporate in jurisdictions like the UK, US, or Estonia to build investor confidence whilst keeping research and development operations in Ukraine.
The road ahead
Ukraine’s start-up ecosystem has demonstrated genuine strengths: unicorns (six or eight, depending on how you count), a total valuation of 30 billion US dollars, and remarkable resilience under conditions that would devastate most business environments. The presence of such value, built quietly over years, confirms real entrepreneurial talent and technical capabilities.
However, the measurement challenges threaten to obscure this potential. Investors struggle to assess opportunities and allocate capital efficiently when basic metrics vary wildly between sources. Policymakers cannot design effective support programmes without understanding the ecosystem’s true size and needs.
The task ahead requires more than methodological improvements. It demands coordination between Ukrainian and international research organisations, explicit agreement on definitions and standards, and recognition that measuring a start-up ecosystem is as much about building consensus as counting companies.
For now, Ukraine’s technology sector continues its improbable evolution: growing stronger under fire, more international under siege, more innovative under constraint. Whether these crisis-born advantages prove durable in peacetime remains uncertain.
But the data—however inconsistent—suggests something remarkable: an ecosystem that has learned to thrive under pressure that would paralyse its peers. That capability may prove more valuable than any conventional competitive advantage in an increasingly volatile world.
The Uncounted Engine: Ukraine’s Start-up Ecosystem, is part of Support Digital Ukraine, an ongoing initiative by Reinvantage to document, connect, and strengthen Ukraine’s digital and entrepreneurial landscape. The report can be downloaded for free from the initiative’s dedicated page, here.
