Dear D3 Investors,
656 drones and 73 missiles were launched against Ukraine yesterday. There is no reported damage to production facilities or team members across our portfolio.
During my conversation this week with Deputy Commander of the Air Force, Colonel Pavlo Yelizarov (effectively the person responsible for protecting the skies over all of Ukraine), he shared that approximately 5% of the Shahed drones currently terrorizing Ukrainian cities are now jet-powered. These variants cruise at 300–400 km/h and can reach top speeds of 500–600 km/h. At present, Ukraine can intercept only around 10% of them.
If you are wondering what a Shahed drone flying overhead sounds like, I recorded this video from my balcony at 3:00 a.m. yesterday.
Spoiler: it did not hit the building and eventually flew away 😥
Shahed drone flying over my balcony
Shahed drone flying over my balcony
Total = 1092 (+42)
We continue investing in components.
TERASI
Registered: Sweden
Round Size: €9M
D3 Investment: €500K at €31M post-money valuation
Round Lead: NIF, Join Capital
Things are about to become highly technical.
In short, this deep tech investment has the potential to transform long-range drone communications. TERASi was founded by three PhDs in Electrical Engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology — Sweden’s oldest, largest, and highest-ranked technical university.
TERASi develops ultra-compact millimeter-wave (mmWave) passive components, radio modules, and future radar systems.
Tactical Communications
In modern warfare, traditional omnidirectional radios create easily detectable electromagnetic signatures, generating a strong need for stealthier, high-bandwidth communications. mmWave technology enables tightly focused, highly secure “pencil beam” communications, making lightweight mmWave components increasingly important for survivable drone operations.