Startups in Ukraine continue to build | TechCrunch

When education technology company Preply became a unicorn earlier this year, employees at its Kiev office celebrated with cake — because that’s what it does, even in the middle of a war.

In the four years since Russia’s all-out invasion of their country, Ukrainian startups have done more than just survive: they are still building and growing. For example, Preply will use the proceeds from its latest round to hire about 100 engineers across its global teams — including in Ukraine, where a third of its engineering staff is based.

Preply is one example among many. Defense technology has received the most attention, especially with regard to the speed with which innovations reach the battlefield. But the same engineering talent and creativity are beginning to emerge as commonalities across sectors that also contribute to strengthening Ukraine.

With Ukraine facing a much larger attacker, the country takes a dim view of efforts to evade mobilization. However, startups can be granted special status that protects key employees from conscription if they are deemed to be supporting the country — and Aspeshi is one of them, its founder Viktor Samoilenko told TechCrunch.

Originally created in the United States in 2021, the company was completely transformed when the war began. It is now best known for Luminify, a mixed reality platform for mental health care that helps Ukrainians deal with wartime trauma. The startup collaborates directly with military units as well as dozens of clinics that provide mental health support to the population.

There are soldiers and veterans, bereaved families, and millions who have moved to western Ukraine or abroad. For those who have always lived in Kiev, the psychological toll is no less terrible.

“Everyone is suffering,” Samoilenko said. “My daughter has celebrated many New Years and Christmases underground so the impact has been huge.”

In a winter that witnessed almost daily attacks on the electricity grid, the Ukrainian capital was not spared from these attacks. According to Natalie Trubnikova, marketing director at Kiev-based IT consultancy Gart Solutions, local residents have adapted to the power outages with high-capacity power banks, gasoline stoves, and diesel generators. But rising costs mean they still have to use these things sparingly, often keeping internal temperatures to a strict minimum.

These harsh conditions have turned offices into shelters from the cold.

“Our office has different generators, so we have electricity and internet, and the office is warm and open 24/7, so any Ukrainian team member can come to the office at any time,” Preply CEO Kirill Begay told TechCrunch last month.

For small startups, coworking spaces have also been a safe haven. LIFT99 Kyiv Hub, a six-year-old venue that took damage from a Russian strike last August, has seen its member numbers soar since reopening two months ago, sales and partnership manager Lada Samarska wrote on LinkedIn.

Despite the missile strikes, Kiev has remained far enough from the front line to remain the main hub for startups in Ukraine, but it is not the only one. Lviv, the largest city in western Ukraine, has attracted many displaced Ukrainians, including technology workers. LEM Station, a renovated tram depot turned creative space, is a symbol of its growing ecosystem, which has also benefited from its proximity to the Polish border.

The number of foreign visitors was lower, but with Lviv still accessible by train, the IT Arena 2025 technology conference brought 6,450 participants from more than 40 countries to the city. Defense technology had its own platform, but the event also showed support for a wide range of startups. Despite the war, venture capital firms remain active in the country, including 1991, Flyer One Ventures, and SMRK.

Despite the long journey, Ukrainians still make the trip to attend technology conferences abroad as well. In Tikarina in Stockholm earlier this month, members of the Ukrainian delegation told TechCrunch that they were tired and waiting for spring. But before saying goodbye, they started listing Ukrainian startups, because that’s what they do, even in the midst of war.