EIFO invests in D3 to support Ukraine’s defence

The Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO), a state-owned financial institution that serves as Denmark’s national promotional bank and export credit agency, has announced a $5 million investment into D3, a venture fund focused on defence technology.  The July 4 announcement states that the investment targets the development and scaling of defence technologies, including drones, sensors, demining equipment, and artificial intelligence solutions. 

It is EIFO’s first investment in D3 as a state-backed fund, aligning with its mandate to support Danish and European supply chains across green transition, defence, and technology sectors. D3 is an early-stage defence technology venture fund established in the summer of 2023 by Eveline Buchatskiy, Anton Verkhovodov, and Elya Chiechienieva. 

The fund’s purpose is to invest in founders developing defence technologies that can contribute to Ukraine’s security and strengthen European defence capabilities. D3 operates as a bridge between Ukraine, with its expertise in asymmetric defence, and allied nations, facilitating capital and partnerships for advanced technologies. It aims to invest in over 30 early-stage startups and has a track record of more than 700 screenings and 16 investments with co-investors. Its portfolio includes companies like Neros Technologies, which is supplying FPVs to both the US and Ukraine. 

The collaboration between EIFO and D3 is expected to generate benefits for both Ukraine and Denmark. For Ukraine, the investment provides risk-tolerant funding to its defence technology ecosystem, enabling continued innovation in rapidly evolving warfare. For Denmark, the partnership opens access for Danish companies to new technology, knowledge, and collaboration opportunities. 

Alongside this investment, EIFO manages a guarantee scheme for investments into Ukraine’s defence industry, with a total budget of DKK 1 billion (US$157 million). There are other innovative schemes to protect and facilitate investments into Ukraine such as the Diia.City legal regime, which was originally set up to support investments in Ukraine’s digital economy, but has expanded to defence. It was recently used as the vehicle for a large investment in Tencore, a UGV manufacturer.

The investment into D3 reflects EIFO’s strategic objectives to support Ukraine, strengthen the Danish defence industry, and enhance European defence capabilities through equity provision to defence and security startups. Denmark has developed a number of innovative schemes to support Ukraine’s defence industry. One procures the 2S22 Boghdana self-propelled howitzer from the manufacturer, supporting the scaling of the company and reducing reliance upon European supply chains. 

Calibre comment

Private capital is flooding to the defence industry and supporting many different companies to raise funding and make their ideas and concepts into a reality. Press releases to that effect are now a weekly occurrence and there is a definite interest in anything to do with drones and AI. However, many of these companies will need contracts to sustain their business and the pool of customers is fairly limited. Moreover, there tends to be a big difference between the technical standards required by European militaries and the standards that predominate in Ukraine, which may make market entry difficult. This is not a comment against Ukraine, but a reflection of the demands of the time. Looking into the future, the likelihood is that the defence ecosystem will continue to expand, but companies will gradually fade from existence or merge into some of the larger primes if they cannot secure contracts. 

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on 12th July, 2025. Credit for the lead image is EIFO and shows Peder Lundquist, CEO at EIFO and Eveline Buchatskiy, co-founder and managing partner at D3.