Ukrainian Startups Are Successfully Scaling, and London Is Their Launchpad

How 1991 Ventures is building bridges of Ukrainian Startups with UK Venture Capital scene within UK-Ukraine TechBridge Investment Accelerator

1991 Ventures has just completed the second round of its UK-Ukraine TechBridge Investment Accelerator, with 11 Ukrainian startups from the cohort taking the stage at London Tech Week, showcasing their readiness for global capital and growth. They pitched to an audience of nearly 300 tech experts, investors, potential partners and other stakeholders.

This program is part of the UK-Ukraine TechBridge, which is a strategic partnership between both countries' governments to connect their technology sectors. The accelerator helps promising Ukrainian startups grow their business in the UK and raise funding.

‍Ukrainian tech is proving itself as a nest for globally scalable startups, and London is emerging as a natural hub for their expansion. According to statistics, 25% of startups from the CEE region relocate to the UK, drawn by capital access, a supportive legal system, and proximity to major markets.

Potential backed by traction

The UK-Ukraine TechBridge Investment Accelerator this year includes 19 startups at Pre-Seed to Series A stages, selected for their investment readiness and UK market potential. Why should investors and ecosystem players be paying attention?

• Last year’s cohort of 20 startups raised over $12M in funding and grants within a year since Demo Day.
• Five of the startups already generate over $500K in annual recurring revenue (ARR), and seven more in the $100K–$500K range.
• 11/19 startups from the cohort were backed by Google for Startups Ukraine Support Fund and received up to $100 000. It’s 10% of the whole fund, which allocated the support to 98 startups.
• Over 50% of the cohort already received the Angel investments, non-equity funding or raised their first rounds.

“Incredible to see the powerhouse of Ukrainian talent in the UK-Ukraine TechBridge Investment Accelerator,” noted Andrea Guariglia, Venture Capital Investor at Dawn Capital. “Exciting innovations to watch, coming through across sectors – from pharma to sanctions to defence AI”

The UK-Ukraine TechBridge Investment Accelerator 2025 cohort includes:

• AllClinicalTrials.com, a B2B2C solution that simplifies trial discovery, offers feasibility studies, and delivers qualified patient referrals, accelerating research in the clinical trials market. The company has access to over 4 million subscribers and helped recruit for Moderna’s Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial.
• Buzzabout, a B2B SaaS that helps marketers do market research by extracting key narratives from billions of social media discussions using AI.
• Carbominer, a B2B Hardware-as-a-Service that provides a solar-powered direct air capture system for greenhouses that extracts CO₂ from ambient air using solar thermal energy, reducing costs by 75% compared to traditional sources.
• CONSOLID.AI, a B2B SaaS, an innovative digital logistics ecosystem that enables businesses to digitize all logistics processes and integrate them into a single environment for maximum efficiency and control, leveraging artificial intelligence for decision automation and resource optimization.
• Deeployalty, a B2B SaaS platform that seamlessly integrates e-receipts, cashback, and loyalty programs into banking apps, empowering both banks and retailers with eco-friendly, cost-efficient customer engagement solutions.
• JobCannon , a B2B + B2C SaaS HR tech solution that uses AI and data analytics to match candidates with jobs based on their skills, improving hiring accuracy and reducing bias. 
• Mantis Analytics, a B2B SaaS,an AI-driven real-time situational awareness and threat intelligence platform.
• UpLife , a health tech SAAS, a mental health companion app that enhances inner well-being through CBT-based digital therapy and interactive tools.
• VanOnGo, a B2B SaaS transforming urban delivery and field service management, reducing delivery operation costs by 10-20%. They offer efficient and intelligent service management solutions, democratizing advanced logistics for businesses of all sizes.
• Verba, a B2C AI-powered solution that helps content creators effortlessly generate and enhance content with subtitles, translations, stickers, voiceovers, denoising, and more.‍
• YC World, a B2B SaaS that empowers professionals to trace entities, detect compliance risks, and visualize corporate networks, all in one place. It includes data on 85 million individuals and 90 million companies from 300 data sources across 75 countries.

How the Program Helped Startups Get UK Investor-Ready

The UK-Ukraine TechBridge Investment Accelerator is a 10-week program designed to prepare Ukrainian startups for raising capital in the UK market, and provide as much individual support as possible. It included:

• Mentorship and expert support: Founders were matched with UK-based mentors experienced in either investing or fundraising in the UK. Startups also participated in lectures, masterclasses, workshops, and online office hours hosted by British venture capital representatives.
• Fundraising support: The program featured a curated online investor Speed-Dating event, one-on-one meetings with VC funds, a live pitch session, and direct intros to investors. An in-person bootcamp in London included offline lectures, discussions and sessions led by local venture capital ecosystem experts.

In the final stretch of the accelerator, the cohort touched down in London for a fast-paced, high-context bootcamp designed to embed Ukrainian founders into the UK’s startup and venture capital ecosystem. Held at venues like Google Cloud Startup Hub, Tech Nation, and Fieldfisher, the bootcamp delivered exactly what early-stage founders need before fundraising in a new market: real talk from investors, legal experts, and ecosystem insiders. Sessions broke down how UK deals get done, why legal hygiene matters for startups, and how policy shapes growth. From pitch feedback and legal strategy to investor psychology and scaling pathways, the bootcamp gave startups deep context and warm strategic connections.

The 2025 edition of the program overall involved 15+ UK-based venture capital professionals, including representatives from Mountside Ventures, Affinity Ventures, Dawn Capital, Blue Lake VC, Morgan Stanley Ventures, Venrex, Samos Investments, BackFuture, Juniper Place, Tenity, Edge Investments, Beringea, Albion VC, Skyrora Ventures, and Mangrove Capital Partners.

Though the programme just ended, the startups already turned some insights into action.

“In collaboration with experts, we have refined our approach to team organization”, said Halyna Kharkivska, Co-founder & CPO of AllClinicalTrials. “Our mentors encouraged us to critically evaluate the organization's structure, identify key roles to be filled, and develop an effective hiring strategy. These changes will help us achieve our goals more quickly”.

“From the beginning of the program, we have clearly defined why we need investment and who our ideal investor is. We have collected the data room according to best practices and completely updated the design of the pitch deck, realizing what accents need to be changed”, says Viktoria Kravchenko, CEO & Co-founder of Verba.

UK-Ukraine tech cooperation and mutual investment and trade

The Investment Accelerator Pilot was launched in 2024 as a part of the Investment component of UK-Ukraine TechBridge, a strategic partnership between the UK Government, the Ukraine Ministry of Digital Transformation, and the Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It aims to connect UK and Ukrainian tech businesses, build resilience, and continue the development of a thriving Ukrainian tech sector despite the challenges of war.

The programme now falls under Article 4 of the UK-Ukraine One Hundred Year Partnership Agreement, which focuses on enhancing economic and trade cooperation between the UK and Ukraine. It aligns with the shared commitment of both countries to create stronger conditions for mutual investment and trade, help modernize both economies, increase their resilience, and foster sustainable, long-term prosperity.‍

Ukraine Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Oleksandr Bornyakov said: “It's already the second year in a row that the Investment Accelerator, implemented by 1991 Ventures, has provided incredible opportunities for Ukrainian startups to showcase themselves on an international scale. And it actually pays off. 20 startups that went through the first program raised over 12 million dollars, and we're incredibly proud of our tech entrepreneurs”

‍Minister for Services, Small Business and Exports Gareth Thomas said: "The 100 Year Partnership signed between our nations earlier this year represents our enduring commitment to Ukraine's future. Providing innovative startups the platform to showcase at London Tech Week shows the power of this partnership, and how we're turning words into action, innovation and economic growth.”