Ukrainian drone startup is building at home
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Russia's war on Ukraine has sparked a boom in global defense-tech investing, particularly around drones. But very few of those startups are actually based and building in Ukraine.
- Buntar Aerospace is an exception.
Driving the news: Buntar this week raised $16 million led by U.S.-based Freedom Fund VC, following a $10.4 million round earlier this year.
- The Kyiv-based company makes electric-powered reconnaissance drones that can operate without GPS, plus remote piloting software. Its products are currently in theater.
Zoom in: Buntar co-founder Bohdan Sas explains that being "local" helps Buntar shorten the feedback loop, speaking with military units daily, and also provides a deep pool of potential employees who have both civilian and combat experience.
- He also acknowledges that Buntar must take precautions unlike defense-tech startups elsewhere.
- "In Ukraine, everything can be a target. Russia has even started to target shopping malls and hospitals. But yes, we have a lot of security procedures. For example, in Ukraine we don't have one big, beautiful facility to manufacture stuff. We have many of them and they are dispersed."
Behind the scenes: Sas says a lot of the investment proceeds will be used to scale manufacturing, as Ukraine's drone demand has outpaced Buntar's supply.
- The company has hundreds of employees and soon will seek "tens of millions" in additional funding, with a focus on investors who can aid with international expansion. Drone warfare, Sas notes, hit critical mass in Ukraine but will not be limited to this conflict.
Fun fact: The company's name is derived from "Star Wars," as "buntar" means "rebel" in Ukrainian. Likewise, its first drone name was a linguistic riff on "Rogue One."
