Ukrainian startups raise record $780 mln in venture capital investments in 2021; volume declined in Q1 2022 - UVCA

MOSCOW. May 31 (Interfax) - Ukrainian startups raised a record $779.6 million in venture capital investments in 216 transactions in 2021, which is 46% more than in 2020, as seen from the findings of the Ukraine Deal Review 2021 annual survey conducted by the Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (UVCA) in partnership with Kreston Ukraine, AVentures, and ISE Corporate Accelerator.

"I'll give you this figure for the first time: it's $2.8 billion in eight years, including $780 million last year alone, which is the whole amount of investments in the Ukrainian ecosystem by foreigners," Andriy Kolodyuk, head of UVCA's supervisory board, said in commenting on the survey's findings for Ukrainian journalists.

Just as in the previous periods, the Ukrainian Startup Fund (USF) accounted for about half of the deals (47%). Private equity investments amounted to $82.8 million, with only deals where the sums were announced publicly counted.

GEEK Ventures, SID Venture Partners, ZAS Ventures, ANCHOR, and PAWA entered the Ukrainian venture capital market for the first time in 2021, UVCA said. They offered Ukrainian startups $0.5 million in financing, as well as their record and expertise. Another 19 major international companies opened their R&D centers, offices, and engineering hubs in Ukraine in 2021.

"But what's most important is that 11 deals and eight exits took place in the first quarter of 2022. This is very important for the ecosystem that deals are continuing and the development of private technology investment markets hasn't stopped," Kolodyuk said.

According to the report, 11 venture deals amounting to $11.5 million, three deals on the private capital market amounting to $4 million, and eight exits valued at $135 million took place in January-March 2022. Last year, UVCA estimated the value of exits at $944.7 million.

The survey also showed that the aggregate value of Ukrainian startups had been $20.7 billion before February 24.