Dear Investors and Friends of D3,
It has now been nearly a year since the appointment of Commander-in-Chief Sirskiy. While this year has brought numerous battles and tactics, few stand out as particularly inspiring or strategically significant—often leaving them difficult to interpret. One notable exception is Kursk. Over the past month, Russia has seized nearly five times more territory than in all of 2023, highlighting a troubling shift in momentum. However, the recent appointment of Major General Mykhailo Drapaty as the head of Ukrainian land forces marks a positive and necessary change. His primary focus is on addressing one of the most pressing challenges: overhauling Ukraine’s notoriously inadequate training program for new recruits. Encouragingly, the new leadership appears tech-friendly: Neon, a cutting-edge data platform for high-value targeting and operational planning, is now being rolled out across the entire Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
As we approach the close of another year of war, the expectation of a potential ceasefire in 2025 has gained traction. While the specifics remain uncertain—timelines, terms, and conditions—one thing is clear: it will usher in the first major transformation of Ukraine’s defense tech ecosystem since the full-scale invasion began. Until now, the focus has been singular: building continuously toward victory on the battlefield. But with a potential shift in the frontline’s status, companies, innovators, and defense buyers will need to adapt and reinvent themselves under dramatically new circumstances.
One might expect this looming change to create hesitation or even a slowdown in the defense innovation ecosystem. Yet, this has not been the case. Despite the uncertainty, the pace of innovation remains undeterred. Over the past month alone, three hackathons were held, with dozens of teams pitching new ideas. Startups continue to scale operations, develop groundbreaking products, and attract fresh capital, showing remarkable resilience and adaptability in the face of ever-changing conditions.
Total = 527 (+21)
[CONFIDENTIAL] Neros Technologies, a company vertically integrating the development and manufacturing of unmanned defense systems in the U.S. while securing critical supply chains, has successfully closed a pre-empted Series A equity round of $35M at a $305M post-money valuation. The round was led by Vy Capital, with the official announcement set for mid-January.
Despite the highly competitive nature of the round, Neros Technologies allocated $300K for D3 as a recognition of our strategic value-add since our initial investment in March. This marks an impressive 9x increase in valuation within just nine months, highlighting the company’s exceptional growth trajectory and market potential.
We have made a small initial investment of $15K into Chariot as part of its first $6.5M funding round at a $35M post-money valuation. The round was led by General Catalyst, who specifically invited us to assist the team in gathering feedback from users and innovators in Ukraine. Although we were brought in late with a limited allocation, we see this as an opportunity to establish an early relationship with the team.
Chariot plans to open a follow-on funding round almost immediately, structured as an uncapped SAFE with a 15% discount, and we are welcome to participate with a much larger check of $300K. For this upcoming round, we will prepare a detailed investment memo once the data room becomes available.
Our decision to participate in this initial round was based on the exceptional credentials of Chariot's founder and CEO, Adam Warmoth, who brings deep expertise as a former Senior Engineering Director at Anduril and Head of Product at Archer (he also interned at Kitty Hawk). Warmoth is assembling a strong team, including the Head of Operations with prior experience at Tesla and Anduril.
Chariot is focused on developing advanced batteries tailored for high-power military use cases—an area largely neglected by conventional battery manufacturers. As electromagnetic systems and directed energy weapons become more prevalent, Chariot is positioned to lead in providing power solutions for these emerging applications. This aligns with our strategy to diversify into components and systems that enhance the ecosystem of the tens of thousands of drones deployed on today’s frontlines.
Chariot’s Product Line
Traction
Tytan Technologies, a company specializing in cost-effective counter-drone solutions, has returned to Ukraine to test their v1 manually-operated Shahed interceptors. Feedback from pilots of mobile fire units and members of the elite Alfa unit within the secret services has been positive.
With this version ready for deployment and sales, Tytan is now shifting focus to developing v2, which will feature automated targeting and acquisition capabilities for intercepting Shahed drones, further enhancing its effectiveness.
Press
Frontline turret showcased to President Zelensky and the Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz