{"id":12637,"date":"2025-10-02T14:51:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T11:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stage.thedefender.media\/?post_type=insights&p=12637"},"modified":"2025-10-13T10:59:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T07:59:19","slug":"dominique-piotet-uptf","status":"publish","type":"insights","link":"https:\/\/stage.thedefender.media\/en\/insights\/dominique-piotet-uptf\/","title":{"rendered":"Dominique Piotet: UPTF is ready to invest in Ukrainian dual-use startups"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the end of September, the Ukraine Phoenix Tech Fund<\/a> (UPTF) was launched in Ukraine \u2013 a \u20ac50 million venture fund that will invest exclusively in Ukrainian tech startups. In a brief interview with Defender Media, the fund’s managing partner, Dominique Piotet, stated that UPTF is prepared to invest in dual-use technologies that can be utilised by the military. He also talked about what dual-use technologies the fund is interested in and when to expect the first deals involving dual-use startups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is UPTF, and who is Dominique Piotet<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

According to Managing Partners Dominique Piotet and Charles Whitehead, UPTF will be the first institutionally backed venture capital fund dedicated exclusively to Ukrainian tech startups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UPTF is backed by three leading institutions \u2013 the European Investment Bank, Bpifrance, and Proparco, as well as by tech entrepreneur Henri Seydoux, founder of Parrot, a pioneering UAV company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dominique Piotet is not a stranger in Ukraine \u2013 he\u2019s well-known as a former CEO of UNIT.City, Ukraine\u2019s first innovation park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defender Media: What gap in the Ukrainian venture ecosystem are you aiming to fill? What makes UPTF different or special?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Dominique Piotet<\/strong>: We are trying to fill the gap between very early stages, like pre-seed \u2014 today occupied mostly by angel investors and USF \u2014 and Series A and above, which is filled by players like Horizon Capital and foreign investors. Essentially, in the seed\/pre-seed space, we are addressing what is often called the \u201cvalley of death,\u201d where there is almost no one active in Ukraine. This is what makes us special. We will be the largest pre-seed\/seed fund in Ukraine by far, with \u20ac50 million, making more than 50 investments, which will be very significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your average ticket size for a dual-use startup? Would it differ from a purely civilian venture?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

No, it will not differ from the others. Our dual-use ticket size will go, like for the others, from \u20ac250K for very early-stage\/pre-seed to \u20ac2 million when we do follow-ons. Same as with a civilian venture\u2014no difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Read more<\/strong>: MITS Capital launches Danish-Ukrainian alliance MITS Industries<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Which area of Defence Tech do you see as the most promising for your fund?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We are very agnostic, as in everything we do with the fund. We like both software and hardware. However, we recognise that hardware is more expensive, especially in the R&D phase. We suspect the same will be true with Defence Tech. With our average ticket size, we don\u2019t believe we\u2019ll be able to do much in hardware-related projects, so we are probably more focused on software-related Defence Tech. That said, this is still very hypothetical at this stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dominique Piote (right) with Mykhailo Fedorov (centre), First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine \/ Photo: UPTF<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When will you be ready to announce your first investment in dual-use Ukrainian startups?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We will start announcing our first investments in general in December. However, with dual-use technologies, we go through a very deep and thorough due diligence process, so we probably won\u2019t be able to announce our first dual-use startup investment before the beginning of next year. But you never know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you planning to work directly with the Ministry of Defence or more with private sector defence companies?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We are ready to work with everyone. We are partnering with public authorities as well as with private bodies, so for us it doesn\u2019t matter. We are close to all stakeholders. As you may recall, Chuck Whitehead is part of the board of Brave1, so we are already very close to everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Don’t miss<\/strong>: $100M pledged for Ukrainian defence tech: commitments from NUNC Capital, Verne Capital, Varangians and Oedipus<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Will UPTF support startups beyond just funding? Mentorship, connections, market access?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Yes, absolutely. First, we will support them even before funding. As you may recall, we are partnering with e\u014d Business Incubators, a non-profit founded by my co-founder, Chuck Whitehead. Many \u2014 though not all \u2014 of our startups will go through e\u014d before funding, ensuring they receive support early on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, after funding, we have a network of mentors who are compensated through part of the carry paid by the fund. And of course, connections and market access are key. This is why we are both European and American, which is also a very important aspect of the fund. For us, this is critical, especially at the early stage: you really need to be hands-on with your startups and portfolio companies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Flash interview with the managing partner of a new venture fund investing \u20ac50 million in Ukrainian startups<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12634,"template":"","tags":[1408,254,216,1728,229],"class_list":["post-12637","insights","type-insights","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dominique-piotet","tag-funds","tag-industry","tag-investments","tag-startups","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDominique Piotet: UPTF is ready to invest in dual use<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Flash interview with the managing partner of a new venture fund investing \u20ac50 million in Ukrainian startups . 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