New Norwegian venture capital fund to back Ukrainian startups

A new EUR80 million fund to invest in Ukrainian startups and accelerate the delivery of defence technologies to the country’s frontlines has been launched by a Norwegian venture capital company.  

Announced by venture capital business Sandwater on 8 June, the fund will back startups from the seed stage of growth to those at the Series B phase looking to rapidly scale.  

The fund, known as Gardar, will invest in a range of technologies, partner at Sandwater, Torkel Engeness, told DSEI Gateway. These include UAVs, counter-drones, electronic warfare, AI, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.  

Gardar will operate via Sandwater’s venture capital platform. The capital for the fund will be supplied by Munkene, a Norwegian volunteer organisation supporting Ukraine, and Ferd, a Norwegian investment company.  

Enhancing European security  

According to Engeness, sustained and coordinated investment across Europe is vital to achieve “the best possible outcome” in Ukraine. Therefore, companies contributing to this effort should be “supported and scaled as effectively as possible”.