Kateryna Bezsudna, who resigned as CEO of the Ukrainian defense startup accelerator Defence Builder in early September, announced her appointment as executive director of the Ukrainian division of the Portuguese startup TEKEVER, which produces drones.
Kateryna Bezsudna, who resigned as CEO of the Ukrainian defense startup accelerator Defence Builder in early September, announced her appointment as executive director of the Ukrainian division of the Portuguese startup TEKEVER, which produces drones.
«Now it’s official. I take the position of director of TEKEVER Ukraine — this is a crucial step to strengthen cooperation between Ukrainian defenders and an international manufacturer that has been present in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion», — Bezsudna noted.
At TEKEVER, she will work to meet the needs of the Defense Forces with tools that have «real impact on the battlefield.» Kateryna Bezsudna announced the expansion of the Kyiv office, which opened in April 2025, and the construction of a «powerful» research and development (R&D) center in Ukraine, which is connected to TEKEVER centers in Portugal, France, and the United Kingdom. She added that she will also work to accelerate the integration of innovations from Ukrainian startups into TEKEVER systems.
In early September, the Ukrainian defense startup accelerator Defence Builder announced personnel changes: Kateryna Bezsudna left the position of CEO, but remained a co-founder and will continue to support the initiative.
In May, Portuguese IT startup TEKEVER, which specializes in developing drones for reconnaissance using AI, attracted about $500 million in investment, which raised its valuation above $1 billion. Its AR3 and AR5 drones helped the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroy billions of dollars worth of Russian equipment.
«We have a very young defense party. Unfortunately, there are no Ukrainian primes like SAAB or Lockheed Martin yet; these companies have centuries-old histories. Some of our startups will join other companies to have a chance to bring the product to effective use on the battlefield and scale up», — Bessudna said in an interview with DOU.
According to her, the evolution will occur when Ukrainian defense companies become so large and interesting that they will enter into partnerships with foreign companies.
«The next stage is when military units will start creating private military companies. This is already happening little by little. Large military units are adapting developments and are already creating internal R&D to cover the needs for critical technologies. I see the future behind this», — noted Kateryna Bezsudna.
She said that expanding its presence in Ukraine will help TEKEVER process feedback from the Defense Forces more quickly, improve products, and integrate solutions from Ukrainian startups into its systems. Bessudna pointed out that the Ukrainian military receives the company’s UAVs as part of a state-level cooperation program between the countries.
«Foreign representatives, technical teams have come to Ukraine quite often over the past two years. And at a certain point, TEKEVER realized that it was necessary to form a team on site. This will help optimize logistics and repairs,» said the director of TEKEVER Ukraine.
Kateryna Bezsudna reported that the Ukrainian department is currently looking for about 10 engineers and an operations manager. She added that TEKEVER Ukraine plans to join Diia.City.
TEKEVER’s press release notes that since its entry into the Ukrainian market, its AR3 and AR5 drones have completed «thousands of missions,» and the AR3 has already flown over 10,000 hours. Thanks to feedback from combat units, developers have made over 100 improvements to the AR3, ultimately leading to the AR3 EVO in September 2025.
«Today, Ukraine is the world’s most important laboratory for defense innovation. TEKEVER has been working here since the very beginning of a full-scale invasion — we test systems on the front lines, listen to feedback, and quickly turn the lessons of war into ready-made solutions. The AR3 EVO is a prime example of this process: built in combat, ready for any mission and in any environment», — said Karl Brue, head of defense programs at TEKEVER.
