They received funding of up to $100,000 each, as well as ongoing Google mentoring, product support, and credits for cloud services. The $5M Google for Startups Ukraine Support Fund was established in March 2022.
The startup environment in Ukraine is a strong and dynamic community that can boast of numerous “unicorns”, such as GitLab, Grammarly, Genesis, People.ai, and FireflyAerospace. Out of approx. 2,000 Ukrainian startups, as many as 126 of them have obtained financing from venture capital funds since the beginning of 2021.
Ukrainian entrepreneurs show great motivation and dedication, even under challenging circumstances. According to a recent report, the total value of Ukrainian startups has increased from EUR 3 billion to EUR 23.3 billion in just three years. This year alone, a three-fold increase was observed. Despite the ongoing war, the founders of startups have shown perseverance, continuing to operate, supporting their clients, and delivering new values to their users.
Since March 2022, Ukrainian startups have been supported by Google for Startups. To date, 58 of them have received support. Thirty-three beneficiaries from the first (17) and second (16) rounds have already used funding and support to develop their activities and achieve tangible benefits. Startups like Releaf Paper and VanOnGo have expanded into new markets; the mental health app Mindly increased its monthly revenue by over 300%, and Esper Bionics was chosen by TIME as one of the 200 best inventions of 2022 (with Esper Hand on the cover!).
While the third group of beneficiaries (25) was the last under the Ukraine Support Fund, Google for Startups will continue to provide mentoring sessions and product support to all 58 startups. In addition, all startups in spring 2023 will be able to present their achievements to international investors, partners, and the local startup community. In addition, programs such as Growth Academy: Cybersecurity and Founders Academy, thanks to which they can overcome challenges and develop their startups, are still available to startups from Ukraine.