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🚀 MITS Capital and Victory Drones Announce Open Call for Defense Tech Bootcamp MITS x Victory Drones Defense Tech Bootcamp is an intensive three-week training program for 20 defense sector startups, aimed at addressing key challenges in the mil-tech sector: production organization, scaling, pitching, business communication, and investment attraction. 💵 Upon completion of the program, participants will share a grant from MITS Capital of $100,000 ($5,000 per team). Official Partners: American University Kyiv, Ukrainian American Coordinating Council. Speakers: H. Perry Boyle, Jr. Boyle, Co-founder of MITS Capital, former member of the executive committee of the investment company Point 72; Maria Berlinska, Head of the project to strengthen the technological capabilities of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine at Victory Drones; Taras Shandura "Ajax", Deputy commander for armaments, Achilles UCAV Battalion, 92-nd assault brigade; Monique Brown, former regional director of international business development at LockheedMartin; Maksym Sokoliuk - Head of R&D, Venator Technologies; Yaroslav Azhnyuk, entrepreneur, Co-founder of "Petcube", "The Fourth Law" and "Odd Systems". 📌 Teams with a proof of concept (PoC) working in the following categories can apply: • Unmanned aerial vehicles; • Unmanned ground vehicles; • Unmanned underwater vehicles; • Electronic warfare systems; • Communications, optical, and acoustic intelligence systems; • Mining/Demining; • Software and AI; • Ammunition. Submit your application to participate in the MITS x Victory Drones Defense Tech Bootcamp by November 24, 2024, following the link - https://lnkd.in/ekQqYcgR. The bootcamp is scheduled to start in early December. SLAVA UKRAINI! 

We summarize the key messages from the MITS Forum with a selection from Panel 5: U.S. Investments in Ukrainian Defense Tech - What Needs to Happen?   Moderator: H. Perry Boyle, Jr., Co-founder of MITS Capital LLC, former member of the executive committee of Point72. 💬 David Bonfili, MITS Supervisory Board member, Co-Founder of ACME General Corp and a former executive at BlackRock, Citadel, and TwoSigma:  "While significant capital has flowed to U.S. companies, government procurement processes remain slow and bureaucratic. But in Ukraine, startups, both domestic and international, have a unique opportunity to quickly secure contracts and generate revenue by addressing critical Ukrainian needs. The streamlined procurement process in Ukraine offers a significant advantage over other markets”. 💬 Nataliia Kushnerska, Head of the Defence Tech Cluster at BRAVE1: "This year, we've significantly increased grant amounts, ranging from $10,000 to $200,000, to support critical, high-priority solutions for the frontline. BRAVE1 is now focused on funding R&D and innovation, rather than scaling existing solutions. Our platform currently hosts over 2,800 solutions, and we've awarded grants to approximately 400 of them, totaling more than $8 million." 💬 Eveline Buchatskiy, Managing Partner at D3: "Initially, we envisioned a standardized approach to funding. However, we quickly realized that the dynamic and innovative nature of Ukraine's defense technology ecosystem demands a more flexible approach. While we initially allocated $125,000 per company, we now tailor our funding to each company's specific needs, with checks ranging from $50,000 to $750,000. As this ecosystem continues to evolve, we must adapt our funding strategy accordingly." 💬 Kateryna Mykhalko, Executive director of a public union «Tech Force in UA»: “To attract investment, the government should: Liberalize export regulations Implement market-based procurement reforms Prioritize domestic enterprises over imported products”. 💬 Olena Petrosyuk, Partner at Waveup: “There are more people willing to take risks, to start their own business, to take a chance on their own lives, to build something big.  We live with so many risks that suddenly the risks of building a new product, of starting a business, are nothing. We definitely need support from the government level, from the ecosystems abroad, from investors and so on. But as individuals, we're here. We want to take risks. We want to take big steps”.

Following the MITS Forum, we have prepared a summary of the highlights of Panel 4: NATO and Ukraine's Strategic Importance - Who Benefits? Moderator: Stacie Pettyjohn, Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). 📌Yulia Marushevska, Head of Reforms Support Office at the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense: "We are determined to modernize our defense sector. Even in the midst of active warfare, we are taking every possible step to ensure our survival. Our motivation is clear: NATO membership. We believe that Ukraine’s membership in NATO will not only end the war but also serve as a powerful deterrent for future aggression".  📌Ernest (E.J.) Herold, MITS Supervisory Board member, former NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Defense Investment: "Ukraine has already met or exceeded all the conditions for NATO membership. As the former Secretary-General emphasized, Ukraine’s membership offers significant political, economic, and social benefits to the Alliance. While the current conflict has raised concerns about potential provocations, these reservations are likely unfounded. My message to Ukraine is to persevere, and I am hopeful that the future will bring positive developments regarding NATO membership". 📌Martin Jõesaar, Programme Officer, European Commission Innovation Office in Kyiv: "We in Europe need to tap into Ukrainian expertise and knowledge of modern warfare. It's imperative to prepare for potential future conflicts. To achieve this, we must significantly increase our investments in defense cooperation".  📌Denys Nikolayenko, Co-Founder and CEO, OKO Camera LLC:  "Navigating the complexities of the Wassenaar Arrangement was a significant challenge. However, by adhering to these international regulations from the outset, we've demonstrated our commitment to responsible business practices. Streamlining these regulations would facilitate smoother cooperation between Ukrainian and NATO companies, enabling faster information exchange and innovation". 

MITS Capital has prepared key messages from the MITS Forum that were shared during the Forbes USA & Forbes Ukraine live interview with military experts. Moderators: Borys Davydenko, Chief Editor, Forbes Ukraine & Katya Soldak, Editorial director for Forbes Media's international editions (USA). Respondents: Anna Gvozdiar, Deputy Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine & Taras Shandura “Ajax”, Deputy Battalion Commander for Weapons, Achilles Strike Battalion of the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade. 📍Borys Davydenko: Why should the Germans, French, Spaniards, etc. want to develop the Ukrainian military industry and economy, and not their own? 💬 Taras Shandura “Ajax”: We found that many Western weapons were completely unprepared for this kind of war. I spent a long time as an artillery fire adjuster, and from my experience, the performance of Western artillery—things like the promised speed and accuracy—didn’t match reality at all. These systems are heavily reliant on GPS, which simply doesn’t work on the front lines. No matter how advanced, every GPS signal from our Western partners still gets jammed. It’s critical for manufacturers to get direct feedback from the units using their equipment, make improvements, return with an updated model, test it, gather feedback again, and keep repeating this cycle. 💬 Anna Gvozdiar: We need to understand one thing: we’re not just fighting Russia; we’re fighting Russia and its allies. We’re seeing weapons in the enemy’s hands that are clearly not all made in Russia—we know this. So, we and our allies need to work together to build a robust defense system. It’s essential for Ukraine that our allies have powerful weapons too. This isn’t a competition; our people are dying on the front lines, and competition isn’t what we want. We want our partners’ defense industries to grow, because soon enough, we’ll likely be fighting side by side against a shared enemy. 📍Katya Soldak: What support do you see from the US now? And what would you ideally like to see? 💬 Taras Shandura “Ajax”: Everything hinges on quantity—we need a lot of everything, and we need it urgently. It’s essential to meet our needs from the ground up, not the top down. Sure, we need F-16s and missiles, but here we are, in the third year of the war, and our country still doesn’t have a factory producing explosives. This gap is deeply felt. Meeting basic needs comes first. At the core of any conflict is the infantry, and if their fundamental requirements aren’t met, then all the high-tech solutions—like laser blasters in space—won't make a difference. What we truly need are explosives, detonators, standard infantry weapons, mortar rounds, and artillery shells.

We at MITS Capital could not be more proud of our Supervisory Board member Monique Brown. She has been accepted to the prestigious Women's Global Leadership Program conducted by Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) this month. Bravo Zulu Monique! https://lnkd.in/gUXGsnQx

We continue to share the most interesting things from the MITS Forum: US-Ukraine Defense Tech Partnership. We have put together the key points from Panel 2: Ukraine Manufacturing & Geopolitical Impact - Why is it a Win-Win? Moderator: Andy Hunder, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine. 📣 Monique Brown, MITS Supervisory Board, Former Regional Director for South, Central and Eastern Europe at Lockheed Martin: «In discussions with different defense primes, my message will be, if you really want to take advantage of Ukrainian technology and understand it, you need to be here. You can't wait another year to start investing the money that it's going to take to develop the capabilities that we're going to need a year from now». 📣 Maryna Bezrukova, Head of the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) MoD of Ukraine: «In addition to the ABC (Anything But China) principle, if you are dependent on something from Russia, something from some other countries, it means that your supply chain can be broken at any time and it means that the company is dependent». 📣 Andriy Brodsky, CEO and Founder, Velta LLC:   «Currently, the market for titanium metal, not raw titanium, but titanium metal, is controlled by three countries by more than 80%: China, Russia and Kazakhstan. In some products, the percentage of titanium that goes directly into the manufacture of aircraft, including fighter jets, reaches 70% of the weight. There is no production of this metal in Europe, the United States or Ukraine. This means that Russia and China now control the supply of titanium metal. That is why my company and I are now working to rectify this situation». 📣 Bohdan Danyliv, Head of the Military Department of the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation: «Volunteers basically pioneered the development and evolution of defense technology. Today, we see that the tactics and strategy of war are completely different from 2022 and 2023. The main push for that was basically volunteers, because at that time we were like angel investors where everybody was scared and wasn't able to react as quickly and invest in new technologies. Like I said, nobody believed in FPVs, but we believed in it». 📣 Oleksandr Dmitriiev, Author and Director of the EYES project: «You understand what the fog of war is - when we don't know what's happening on the enemy side, we can only guess with the help of some sensors, signs that something has come from there. And we (the EYES project) have been given real-time information about the enemy, with a delay of up to one second. We have the whole chronology of the war since 2022».

The MITS Forum: U.S. - Ukraine Defense Tech Partnership united nearly 300 participants to discuss current challenges and define strategies to enhance Ukraine's defense capabilities as an asset for the democratic world. We explored innovative solutions, strategic partnerships, and the development of a thriving startup ecosystem. Main topics: - Ukrainian Defense Technology Innovations; - Ukraine Manufacturing & Geopolitical Impact; - Forbes USA & Forbes Ukraine Live Interview with Military Experts; - NATO and Ukraine’s Strategic Importance; - US Investments in Ukrainian Defense Tech.  Official Partners: American University Kyiv, American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, BRAND UKRAINE. Learn more about the key takeaways from the MITS Forum on our page.

The MITS team is pleased to share the key points from the speakers during the MITS Forum: U.S. - Ukraine Defense Technology Partnership panel discussions. We start with Panel 1: Ukrainian Defense Technology Innovations - What Resources Are Missing to Win the War? Moderator: Liudmyla Dolhonovska, Chief of Staff at American University Kyiv, Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Gen Zaluzhnyi in 2021-2023. Alex Bornyakov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, about communication with Western partners: "When we (Ukrainian defense tech) started, we said: “Give us some solutions, give us some access to spare parts, to technologies.” Now we say: "Just give us money, we have a local market." If you finance a Ukrainian manufacturer, you will do much more good for Ukraine than if you look for someone to make a product that is ready enough to work in our current conditions." Vitalii Kolesnichenko, CEO, Airlogix, about the situation with production financing: "We are one of the companies that, thanks to the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the Ministry of Defense and their initiative, have been able to grow quickly, produce our UAVs quickly and deliver them to the front line. We are in the process of expanding our production capacity. The news that there will be a budget shortfall for UAV manufacturers next year is a wake-up call for us. That's why we are now communicating a lot with foreign partners, they are very interested in technology, very interested in what has been tested on the battlefield. But this is all about export, export control, and we have to work with that. @Volodymyr Kypriy, Deputy Commander of the Logistics Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the maintenance of weapons from Western partners: "Drones produced in Ukraine can be improved very quickly thanks to feedback, taking into account all the wishes of our boys and girls fighting on the front line. When it is a case of imported drones, we are faced with the fact that we have to contact the manufacturer, which is located abroad, to order some spare parts, which have to be brought to Ukraine, and so on. That is, there are certain difficulties related to the logistics and maintenance of the military equipment provided by our partners". Continued below 👉🏻

It was an honor to moderate the first panel discussion of the MITS Forum: U.S. - Ukraine Defense Tech Partnership. I am truly grateful to the organizers MITS Capital that this discussion on innovations on the battlefield was the first in the program. After that, other speakers talked about the geopolitical impact of manufacturing in our country, Ukraine’s role in NATO’s future and global security. But the starting point was a fair and even sharp discussion about the situation on the frontline with people who know it better than anyone - the commander of the AZOV intelligence Dmytro Pavlenko-Kryzheshevskyi, Deputy Commander of the Logistics Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Volodymyr Kypriy, head of the Air Intelligence Support Centre and Victory Drones Project Maria Berlinska, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Oleksandr Bornyakov and CEO of AirLogix Vitaliy Kolesnichenko. Obviously, it is the situation on the front of the Russian-Ukrainian war that determines the geopolitical agenda and what the world will be like in the next decades. Ukrainian innovations in defense technology shape the future of global security. We are in an extremely tough position (Maria even said that we were losing this war), but technology can still help us prevail. We have manufacturing in Ukraine, really advanced solutions in unmanned aviation, software for data aggregation and situational awareness, and much more. What we lack is money. And this is the cheapest the West can pay to avoid a bigger war.

MITS Capital organized the first international MITS Forum: U.S. - Ukraine Defense Tech Partnership, dedicated to the defense technology partnership between Ukraine and the United States and issues of global collective security. The Forum brought together around 300 government officials, leading experts, military personnel, Ukrainian mil-tech companies, start-ups and investors. The key topics of the forum were the strategic role of US investment in Ukraine's defense sector, the importance of Ukrainian technological innovation, manufacturing potential, developing a strategic partnership with NATO and attracting investment in the defense industry. The MITS team, together with the American Chamber of Ukraine, American University of Kyiv and Brand Ukraine, is also developing an Open Letter to the future US President with key recommendations and strategic proposals for the development of the US-Ukraine defense partnership, which will be supplemented by the results of the forum discussions. Event Partners: American University of Kyiv, American Chamber of Commerce, Brand Ukraine. We thank our partners, speakers and guests for their participation in the MITS Forum. 📸 @spud2006 (Instagram)