At the recent UK-Ukraine Tech Bridge Forum in London that took place on March 8, 2024, our Investment Director Daria Yaniieva gave a speech about building strong partnerships between the UK and Ukraine. Promoting collaboration and driving cross-border initiatives in today’s technology landscape is now even more important than ever.
Early March was the time for an event that took place in central London that attracted over 200 people and 40 companies, government officials, tech industry leaders, business associations and the media from both Ukraine and the UK. The UK-Ukraine Tech Forum was held in the heart of the city and aimed to create a platform for dialogue and cooperation between Ukrainian and UK businesses and government. The day featured several panels aimed at forging government-to-government and business partnerships and areas of collaboration.
Among key ideas for Ukraine and the UK cooperation discussed
- Knowledge sharing and joint projects on cybersecurity to improve cyber defences as one of the top priorities for countries that are most exposed to cyberattacks. Within this area CEO and co-founder of Sigma Software Valery Krasovsky, alongside Andriy Lazorenko, co-founder of IdeaSoft met with UK and Ukrainian government delegates at cybersecurity roundtable. They discussed practical steps for effective protection of critical infrastructure, protection against disinformation, and Ukrainian cyber defence technologies.
- Investment and technology development: The UK-Ukraine TechBridge accelerator, which focuses on fostering collaboration between our two tech ecosystems and sharing experiences, can help develop Ukraine’s startups to tap into the UK venture capital market. Moreover, Ukrainian IT companies are skilled in modern technologies such as AI, ML, dual-use, defence and more, which could be a platform for more win-win projects with UK partners.
Business synergy: an example of collaboration that is going worldwide
We had a great opportunity to present our ecosystem at the Forum and tell attendees about the synergy of business and innovation, and how Ukrainian startups attract the whole world to invest. Daria highlighted the incredible evolution of the Sigma Software Group from just an IT company to a dynamic ecosystem, that includes, besides Sigma Software itself — a VC arm Sigma Software Labs, an educational wing Sigma Software University, a FinTech Blockchain company IdeaSoft, and a game tech company Eventyr. Also, she showcased several Ukrainian startups from both Labs and SID Venture Partners portfolio that are making a global impact already now, such as:
- INPUT SOFT — a web-based solution for civil aviation management, backed byTechstars alumni team, piloted successfully in Ukrainian airports pre-2022 and now actively implementing PoC in the USA, Chile, Lithuania, and Georgia;
- Black Snow Games — next-gen AR platform for businesses, now improving user experience in the Mall of Emirates. The startup was highlighted by the UK Magazine as one of the TOP 30 startups among more than 1500 other innovative solutions at Web Summit 2021;
- Haiqu — a patented quantum algorithm that improves the performance of modern quantum hardware, recognized as a DeepTech startup of the Year in 2023 by the Ukrainian Startup Fund Awards, raised $4 million from global investors, including Toyota Ventures.
Additionally, Volodymyr Sofinskyi, Co-founder & COO at Datrics and Veronica Korzh, CEO and Co-founder at GeekPay showcased their cutting-edge products that are integrated into businesses across Europe and the world.
Embracing the future of Tech collaboration
We’ve been actively engaged in business development activities in the UK for years, participating in numerous tech events such as London Tech Week with 30,000 participants from all over the world presenting our startups, gaining visibility in top local media Startupsmagazine, Pwmnet.com, Сomputing.co.uk and others.
Initiatives such as the UK-Ukraine Tech Bridge serve as a platform for even more effective future collaboration. With Ukraine becoming one of the top three fastest growing tech ecosystems in the EU, attracting over $800 million in investment annually, the potential for partnerships with the UK is huge. We thank the UK’s Department for Business and Trade, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, IT Ukraine Association, and techUK for their key role in facilitating this dialogue.
