1/ 🧵 From a hospital bed after his third concussion fighting near Bakhmut, a Ukrainian warrior sent a LinkedIn message that would become a $5M defense company.
Now he's CEO of British-Ukrainian Trypillian—boosting mil-tech that most VCs won't fund 🧵⤵️
2/ The warrior-turned-CEO is Ivan Matveichenko.
His hospital LinkedIn message went to Brooks Newmark, a former British MP—now his backer.
They saw what VCs missed, as told to @DefenderMediaUA:
Brilliant Ukrainian engineers building weapons with no time for business. ⤵️
3/ So they built Trypillian—named after the ancient civilization that built Europe's first cities in Ukraine 7,000 years ago.
Their mission: buy mil-tech startups and handle everything they hate—sales, legal, fundraising—while the engineers focus on making weapons. ⤵️
4/ Their flagship project, so far: a deep-strike kamikaze drone that makes defense unaffordable.
Enemy's choice: spend 30-50x more to shoot it down, or let it hit.
The key? It flies at "unprecedented altitude"—only high-end air defenses can even touch it.
🎥: unrelated 😎 ⤵️
5/ But battlefield basics matter too. "As an infantryman myself, I know most soldiers rarely see high-tech, AI-powered systems," Ivan says. "For them, it's all about [workhorse] FPVs and 'Baba Yaga'-type [bomber drones]."
So Trypillian teams produce both. ⤵️
6/ Trypillian's model: They acquire tech teams and handle the business side while engineers focus on building products to suit various battle needs.
Two teams already acquired. More coming, thanks to Trypillian chairman Newmark's $5 million investment. ⤵️
7/ Like Thomas Jefferson, Ivan attended the College of William & Mary, @williamandmary, where he earned an MBA.
He was starting a property development firm in Kyiv when Russia attacked. He got his wife to safety, then volunteered to fight.
Which he's doing now—in a new way. ⤵️
8/ Who is @BrooksNewmark? A former Conservative MP (2005-2015), Civil Society minister, and Lord Commissioner, he was doing humanitarian work in Ukraine when Ivan's message arrived.
His Angels for Ukraine NGO helps Ukrainians, kids included, w/PTSD: ⤵️ ukraineangels.org
9/ Trypillian products are battle-tested by Ukrainian forces. "Development is joint: We receive feedback after every mission, review what worked and what didn't," says Ivan, who served in the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade.
This isn't Silicon Valley—It's Defense Tech Valley. ⤵️
10/ The goal for Trypillian? A defense corporation for post-victory.
"When peace comes and domestic demand drops, we'll help Ukrainian defense companies that struggle to enter foreign markets scale globally under our brand," Ivan says. ⤵️
11/ From pre-war property developer to wounded defender to tech CEO—Ivan's journey reflects a new generation of Ukrainian entrepreneurs.
His message to veterans: "Get in touch. We'll either have a role for you now—or soon. Either way, we'll find a way to work together." ⤵️
12/ Read about Trypillian and other brilliant Ukrainian mil-tech startups at Defender Media:
⤵️thedefender.media/en/
13/ With 12 people in Ukraine, 3 in London, Trypillian is hiring hardware engineers, DevOps, QA, PR, marketing. .
Ivan Matveichenko, in hospital post-Bakhmut, sent a LinkedIn note: Ukrainian can-do spirit.
Follow me for stories of the resilient! 🧵🎬trypillian.com
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