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Roman Gapachilo worked in service IT for over 20 years and seemed to know the industry down to the smallest detail. But at some point, that wasn’t enough. He left the large service business Intellias, where he had worked for 7 years, and headed the Ukrainian defense startup DoD Solution, which develops computers and software for autonomous drones. dev.ua talked to him about this transition, the risks, 1 million euros of investment, hiring, humor during war, and why everything is much simpler in defense: you either do it or you lose.

Artificial intelligence has changed dramatically over the past two years. While it used to be a utilitarian tool—for writing code or summarizing emails—it has now become an emotional support for millions of people. Users turn to AI not just for answers, but also for support, conversations, and even intimacy. This is how the booming market for AI companion apps, also known as «AI girlfriends» or digital partners, emerged. As of 2026, they had amassed over 150 million downloads on Google Play alone.

Ukrainian IT professionals are massively complaining about burnout, chaos around artificial intelligence, and problems with the labor market. The corresponding thread gathered dozens of comments on Threads after a question from IT stand-up comedian Vlad Halytskyi, «IT professionals, what’s driving you crazy about your work right now?» The discussion quickly turned into an emotional cross-section of the industry — and it turned out to be quite harsh.

I am sure that many of our readers have paid attention to the latest news about the state of affairs with the global network in the Russian Federation. This news has flown and continues to flow into our information space unsystematically and remains largely unnoticed. In principle, and rightly so. We have enough of our own problems, and we don’t really want to be interested in: «What about the Russians?»

Unfortunately, this is not clickbait, but a fact. Businesses should soberly assess the situation: over the past month, the cost of contracting servers and related equipment has increased several times, and this trend will continue — most likely for at least another two years. Purchasing new hardware becomes a challenge for the company. And the issue is not only about price and terms: there is a risk that you simply won’t get the quota and will be left without the opportunity to upgrade or expand your existing equipment. What exactly is happening and why?