Early in February 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shook the European VC industry. According to reports, Ukraine has 28 VC-backed firms that raised a total of $10.4M in 2021, even though the Ukrainian startup scene is very tiny compared to other European nations. The country was destined for prosperity, but today, due to offensive Russian militancy, the Ukrainian startup scene of 2022 is battling to stay afloat in the face of war dead and daily threats. Here are 7 Ukrainian startups, from within Ukraine and now migrated, braving the war to rebuild the country with inputs from Ratmir Turchaninov, a copywriter at a Ukraine-based startup SapientPro.
Petcube
Based in San Francisco, California, United States, Petcube was founded in 2012 in Kyiv, Ukraine, by Alex Neskin, Yaroslav Azhnyuk, and Andrey Klen. Petcube is a worldwide leader in connected pet cameras and software. With Petcube Play, Petcube Bites, and Petcube Care, Petcube connects pets to the internet, understands them through machine learning, and provides a platform with curated pet products and services. Petcube has raised a total funding amount of $14.1M in 12 rounds. The latest has been Series from SOSV multi-stage VC firm, for an undisclosed amount.
ClinCaseQuest
Kharkiv, Ukraine-based startup, ClinCaseQuest, was founded in 2020 in Kyiv, Ukraine, by Lopina Nataliia. The goal of the Platform is to ensure the improvement of the quality of medical education, both undergraduate and postgraduate. The essence of the Platform is the creation of virtual simulators for clinical cases that will help doctors gain experience in a safe virtual environment, undergoing training in real clinical situations, which are the basis of virtual training rooms. There is no funding news of ClinCaseQuest.
CardioAI
Kiev, Kyyivs’ka Oblast’, Ukraine-based startup, CardioAI, was founded in 2015 and is a sub-organization of XOresearch focused on providing deep learning technology to Healthcare. CardioAI® provides accurate and detailed annotation of stress, rest, and Holter electrocardiograms according to HL7® aECG standard. Powered by a deep learning approach, the software detects a wide range of cardiac events that are constantly updated. There is no funding news of CardioAI.
Esper Bionics
Based in New York, United States, Esper Bionics was founded in 2019 in Kyiv, Ukraine, by Dima Gazda and Anna Believantseva. Esper Bionics is a worldwide leader in connected pet cameras and software. With a focus on mechatronics, AI, and IoT technologies for Human Augmentation, Esper Bionics products are Esper Hand, a bionic self-learning hand prosthesis; Esper Control, a non-invasive wearable brain-computer interface; and Esper Platform, a cloud-based software solution to individualize the control of wearables. The MedTech startup Esper Bionics has raised a Seed Round funded by Alchemist Accelerator for an undisclosed amount.
Comeback Mobility
Based in New York, United States, Comeback Mobility was founded in 2020 in Kyiv, Ukraine, by Ilya Popov. ComeBack Mobility provides wireless devices attached to crutches to monitor a patient’s walking recovery progress. ComeBack Mobility has developed smart crutch tips to control the load on the injured leg, combining AI with a simple hardware product. Smart crutch tips send data to a mobile app and compare the data to the doctor’s recommendation. The app then gives feedback to the patient. Petcube has raised a total funding amount of $1.1M in 2 rounds. The latest Seed Round is funded by Anton Bartieniev, Farmak, Myron Jarosewich, Peter Chernyshov, Sergey Berezhnoy, and Ukrainian Startup Fund, among others.
Manna
Based in Los Angeles, California, United States, MANNA was founded in 2021 in Kyiv, Ukraine, by Gennadiy Zhuga and Oleg Dryzhak. Manna is a super easy way to animate any live performance in real-time, with intuitive control of lifelike avatars, studio tools and an interactive 3D streaming platform that allows collaborative XR content creation. MANNA reinvented motion capture gear with a smartphone and innovative wearable trackers and unlocked professional virtual production for streamers, actors/filmmakers, musicians, gamers, athletes and artists, allowing avatars to replicate the emotions and movements of users. There is no funding news of MANNA.
Noty.ai
Based in Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal, Noty.ai is a Ukrainian startup founded in 2021 by Natalie Marina. AI-powered assistant transforming meetings into actions and follow-ups. Whether it is a crucial meeting or a discussion a user wants to keep a receipt of –Noty.ai transcription superpower covers everything for users. With Noty.ai, users can share their conversations/transcripts with the entire team. Noty.ai has raised a total funding amount of $500K in 1 round. The latest has been a Seed Round from Geek Ventures-an NYC venture fund for immigrant founders.
According to Ratmir Turchaninov, “the Ukrainian MedTech and Military Technology will probably be the biggest trends in the nearest time.” He said, “startup summits in his area announced priority funding for startups aiming to increase military defense systems.” ♦
