The third EU-Ukraine Tech Summit 2025, hosted by London PR Lab at the Google for Startups Campus in Warsaw on 7 April, brought together over 200 participants - Ukrainian startup founders, EU policymakers, investors and global tech experts. The event spotlighted Ukraine’s strategic importance to Europe’s digital future and the urgent need to foster capital, trust, and innovation across the borders.
International Tech experts took a deep dive into EU-UA Ecosystem, AI innovation, success stories from women in tech, and cross-border funding opportunities in 2025.
Summary: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7315383230772211712/
The Keynote speaker - Michal Szczerba, Member of the European Parliament, opened the Summit and highlighted that EU created two programs: SAFE with €150B in a form of loans and EDIP with €1.3B funding for startups in defence sector from EU and Ukraine.
Michal Kanownik, President of Digital Poland Association, leader of CEE Digital Coalition stated: “Supporting Ukraine’s digital development is an investment in security and competitiveness of the entire Europe. As neighbors and partners, we consider it our responsibility to also foster our close business cooperation, exchange of experiences, mutual learning and joint development in the digital sector.”
Michal Kramarz, Head of Google for Startups CEE shared a valuable advice to all startups: “Look at the niches nobody is focuses on, that’s where the hidden potential lies. ElevenLabs, a trending Polish unicorn, focused on audio AI while others were busy with text, image, and video generation.”
Natalia Mykolska, Executive Director at Diia.City United, highlighted the importance of Ukraine’s digital-first mindset and agility. She added: “We’re not just asking for a seat at the table, we’re already co-designing the table.”
$462M invested in Ukrainian tech in 2024, double vs PY
Key stats: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7315642707853398016/
Marta Romaniak, VP Global Branding at Avenga said: “EU policies are not just about regulation—they’re a foundation for trust, growth, and meaningful collaboration. Ukraine isn’t waiting for better times, it’s contributing, scaling, and innovating as a part of the European tech landscape.”
Iryna Manukovska, VP Innovation at XME.Digital summarised recomendations for AI startup founders: Build with responsibility, focus on real problems, leverage unique data, implement robust security and avoid bias and misinformation.
Yuliia Malich, Head of Public Policy Ukraine & West Asia (EAST) at Bolt stated: “Orchestrating hundreds of AI models in real time requires aligned objectives and regular audits for bias”.
Lyubov Danilina, Country Manager at Payoneer highlighted the important role of angel syndicates for both startups and investors, urging founders to seek out syndicates aligned with their industry for long-term support. The alliance between Poland, EU and Ukraine continues to create a vibrant tech bridge with global potential.
The Summit’s Startup Pitching Session featured 100% Ukrainian-founded startups tackling real-world challenges across edtech, robotics, and cybersecurity.
Top 3 Winners were selected by the jury/investors:
Mosqitter
Zibra AI
Mindship.me
Competing startups: Crowd Ukraine, VITA325, Threat Breaker, Funely AI, xTiles, Nanit Robot, OpenMinds
Winning principles for a successful startup pitch remain the same - simplicity, clear product value proposition, founding team background.
With continued support from EU stakeholders, strategic funding mechanisms, and cross-border collaboration, Ukrainian startups are building companies that matter—not only for local recovery, but for the future of Europe.
The EU-Ukraine Tech Summit 2025 was made possible thanks to the support of Strategic Partners: Google for Startups, Ukrainian Embassy in Poland and other loyal partners: Digital Poland Association, Diia.City United, Bolt, Ukrainian Startup Fund, IT Ukraine Association, Diia.City.Union, ICLUB and the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.