The Norwegian Gardar fund is ready to increase investments in Ukrainian defense tech startups to 100 million euros.
The Norwegian Gardar fund is ready to increase investments in Ukrainian defense tech startups to 100 million euros.
According to Defender Media, the founders of the fund have already raised 80 million euros, but plan to increase this amount.
«In general, we look for companies that are trying to solve really complex problems. So complex that they remain relevant as challenges and solutions for a long time. Ideally, the complexity of the problem should provide the company with long-term impact,» explains the fund’s managing partner Erlend Prestgard.
The Gardar Foundation emerged from another initiative — the Munkene AS consortium, which was already present in Ukraine and financed several local defense companies.
Over the past year, the team has vetted over 150 Ukrainian companies, met with a hundred of them, and invested in four: Buntar Aerospace, Lazr, Pai Defense, and another unnamed manufacturer.
«When investors saw the quality of the companies, they said it was time to expand this initiative, create a full-fledged fund and work on it full-time,» says Prestgard.
He also adds that a fifth investment is currently being planned — it was previously negotiated by the Munkene team, but it will be made on behalf of the Gardar fund.
As dev.ua previously wrote, 90% of Ukrainian defense industry companies received foreign requests for cooperation in 2026.
