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# CEE Startup & Tech Weekly: Ukraine and France Launch €20M Defense Tech Fund
- URL: https://www.therecursive.com/cee-startup-tech-weekly-ukraine-and-france-launch-eur20m-defense-tech-fund/
- Published: 2026-06-19T10:45:51.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-19T10:46:57.000Z
- Description: The Recursive’s weekly roundup aims to cover key tech developments across Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the growing impact of CEE-born founders on the global stage. Take a look at the latest news in funding, startup milestones, and emerging trends tied to the region’s innovation potential.
- Author: The Recursive
- Tags: CEE Weekly

## CEE news & deals

**Kyiv-based logistics AI startup Cargofy** has raised [$11 million (€9.6 million)](https://www.vestbee.com/insights/articles/cargofy-lands-11-m?ref=therecursive.com) in a Series A round, including $6 million in primary funding and $5 million in secondary transactions. Founded in 2023 by Stakh Vozniak, Alex Kovalchuk, and Dimitri Alexiou, Cargofy develops AI-powered “digital workers” that automate end-to-end freight operations for shippers, carriers, and third-party logistics providers.

**Warsaw-based Microamp** [has secured €6.5 million](https://www.therecursive.com/warsaws-microamp-eic-investment-5g-6g-network/) from the European Innovation Council to develop Any-G, a software-defined wireless platform engineered to support 5G, 6G and future network standards from a single architecture, without replacing physical infrastructure.

**Czech-Slovak Sloneek**, cloud-based HR and workforce management platform, secured oversubscribed [$6M (€5.18M) Series A round](https://www.therecursive.com/czech-slovak-startup-sloneek-closes-over-eur5m-round-to-turn-hr-software-into-an-ai-colleague/)led by Orbit Capital and Venture to Future Fund. The company wants to extend its platform beyond HR by integrating with systems used across finance, marketing and other departments.

**Slovak startup Definic**, previously known as Nordics, [raised €2.5 million ($2.9 million) in seed funding](https://www.therecursive.com/slovak-definic-seed-round-ai-vendor-intelligence-platform/) to help enterprises pick the right IT vendors through AI-driven vendor intelligence and benchmarking. The round was funded by J&T Ventures (lead), Seed Starter ČS (Česká spořitelna), Slovak Investment Holding (SIH).

**Lithuanian defense-tech startup PDKINEMATICS** [secured a €2 million seed round](https://www.therecursive.com/lithuanian-defense-tech-startup-raises-eur2m-for-nato-uav-guidance/) co-led by Coinvest Capital and Iron Wolf Capital to scale production and deployment of its battlefield-proven Gannet precision guidance system for UAVs across Europe, Ukraine, and NATO markets. 

**Poland-based agritech company OneSoil**, which develops AI-powered precision agriculture tools, has secured €1 [million in funding](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/onesoil%5Fonesoil-secures-1m-to-expand-ai-powered-activity-7473292584942174208-9awP?utm%5Fsource=share&utm%5Fmedium=member%5Fdesktop&rcm=ACoAADLXLE4BNNDbYnXXeV2wh%5FDxAc1SssTOf5c) from Yury Melnichek, co-founder of Melnichek Investments.

## Growth across the ecosystem

[Poland has become an equity investor in ElevenLabs](https://www.therecursive.com/poland-becomes-a-shareholder-in-elevenlabs/), the $11B AI voice company founded by Polish childhood friends Mati Staniszewski and Piotr Dąbkowski. Through Vinci, the venture arm of state-owned development bank BGK, the country is putting **$11M directly into the startup,** taking a minority stake in return.

Beyond the equity, the fund is also launching AI Lab Poland — a national initiative to help early-stage AI startups access capital and connections of the kind that took ElevenLabs global, and that the company can now pay forward.

## New fund

Kos Biotechnology Partners, founded by Greek-American life sciences investors **Dr. Simos Simeonidis** and **Alex Tzoukas**, recently announced the third closing of its inaugural fund at [$123 million (€106 million)](https://www.therecursive.com/kos-biotechnology-partners-first-greek-life-sciences-fund/), making it the largest debut venture capital fund ever raised in Greece, and one of the largest first-time life sciences fund launches in Europe.

The fund focuses on bringing US biopharma expertise and capital to emerging life sciences opportunities across Greece and the broader European market.

## Cross-country collaboration

**Ukraine and France** [have launched BRAVE FRANCE](https://tech.eu/2026/06/17/ukraine-and-france-launch-eur20m-brave-france-fund-to-accelerate-battlefield-innovation/?ref=therecursive.com), a new defense tech initiative backed by a joint €20 million fund from Ukraine’s BRAVE1 and France’s Defense Innovation Agency (AID).

The program will support Ukrainian and French companies developing military technologies for frontline needs, with grants of up to €1 million. The first call for projects opens in September, focusing on missile systems, drones, and advanced air defense solutions.

*"The deal represents a highly strategic, win-win format of international partnership: Ukraine gains immediate access to battlefield-changing European technologies, while France secures a unique opportunity to adapt its defence innovations to a high-intensity modern war,"* saidMykhailo Fedorov, The Minister of Defence of Ukraine*.*