What do you need to build a startup? It comes down to two foundational bricks: talent and capital. The talent is the founders; the capital comes from VCs and angels. These two elements are co-dependent, and their abundance—or lack thereof—can determine the success or failure of a startup ecosystem.
In defense tech, VC money has been notoriously scarce for years. The reasons were largely ethical, many VCs didn’t understand the space, and financial—it was a difficult industry in which to land contracts. But it turns out the most ethical thing you can do is fund people building technologies to defend their countries. And, as it happens, you can also build multi-billion-dollar companies in this space.
As always, it couldn’t be done until someone did it
We sat down with Perry Boyle, one of the VCs who recognized the potential and the urgency of funding defense tech startups. He does so in the world’s most active defense tech space: Ukraine.
In January 2024, Perry co-founded MITS Capital to help Ukrainian startups secure the funding they need to scale—and to support Ukraine in its struggle against Russia. Before co-founding MITS Capital, he spent 30 years on Wall Street, leading global investment strategies and managing multi-billion-dollar portfolios at institutions such as SAC Capital and Point72.
Who Are You and What Are You Working On?
I’m the co-founder and CEO of MITS Capital, an international merchant bank focused on bringing capital into Ukraine to help drive Russia out of Ukraine and integrate Ukraine into Europe’s defense architecture.
We run two major lines of business:
- Venture & Acceleration. We operate an accelerator in partnership with American University Kyiv—two cohorts have graduated over the past year, and a third starts next month. We invest our own capital and also manage the Lightning Fund—primarily European LPs, with some American and Ukrainian investors—which backs companies coming through the accelerator and provides growth capital to graduates.
- MITS Industries. At the Defense Tech Valley Conference this September 2025 in Lviv, we announced MITS Industries—a Danish-registered company operating in Ukraine that consolidates Ukrainian defense-tech firms. It’s a “micro-prime” designed to be a long-term consolidator of Ukraine’s defense-tech industry, marrying Danish capital and technology with Ukrainian industrial capability. We have ambitious plans there.
Do You Operate Only in Ukraine?
We prioritize Ukrainian founders and companies operating in Ukraine. We’ll also invest in companies with substantial Ukrainian operations, but the center of gravity is clearly Ukraine.
That Sounds Like a Strong Investment Thesis Around Ukraine. What’s the Core of It?
Ukraine has advantages that NATO countries can’t easily replicate:
- Scale. Ukraine’s defense-industrial base is much larger than most people realize. In terms of pure production, Ukraine is already turning out more air and ground drones and more howitzers than all of NATO combined.
- Cost. Within Europe, Ukraine is a low-cost producer of defense products. It’s the only European country with a cost structure that can actually compete with China, and we’re systematically removing China from Ukraine’s supply chains.
- Innovation Speed. The pace of adaptation is unmatched because Ukraine uniquely connects factory technologists directly to warfighters without a heavy bureaucracy in between. You can’t pick that team up, move it to another European capital, and expect the same results.
- Doctrine & Deployment. Ukraine’s military is optimized to deploy new tech—from tactics to unit organization (squad, platoon, brigade). That optimization simply doesn’t exist elsewhere in NATO.
Bottom line: NATO shouldn’t try to reinvent the Ukrainian wheel; it should integrate Ukraine into Europe’s defense-industrial base.
What About Exports and Supply Chains?
Exports are accelerating. There’s active work—think tanks coordinating with the government—to speed export approvals. Many dual-use companies already export, and there’s an intent at the presidential level to export finished products where Ukraine has excess capacity.
The pieces are falling into place to plug Ukraine into European defense supply chains.
Which Verticals Are Most Compelling Right Now?
There are several:
- Uncrewed maritime systems. Ukraine has been the most successful navy of the 21st century without a blue-water fleet. Translating that know-how into NATO is hugely valuable.
- Long-range strike. Ukraine’s cruise-missile capability is underappreciated. There are additional programs, including ballistic missile capabilities. Ukraine keeps forward-integrating down the capability chain—the constraint is capital, not talent or speed.
Aid Packages Often Mean Buying Abroad and Shipping In. Do You Expect Founders to Start Building More Directly in Ukraine?
Yes. You’ll see more domestic production in Ukraine financed by non-Ukrainian investors, because those four structural advantages can’t be replicated outside the country.
Last year, Defense Tech Valley had about 1,000 participants; this year, it had 5,000. The challenge for outsiders is navigating Ukraine’s investment and export regimes. That’s why we built MITS Industries—Danish governance, operations in Ukraine, and an export team led by the former head of Ukraine’s export office.
We’re laying a bridge between Ukraine and the rest of Europe to make investing straightforward.
Which Startups Are Ready for Export Today?
Tencore has scaled the fastest in our portfolio. They make the TerMIT family of ground drones/UGVs and are already the largest UGV producers globally, having grown from essentially zero three years ago. Tencore is now a platform company within MITS Industries.
We’re expanding on that platform in October, and we expect further companies to join. We intend to take MITS Industries public in the next year or two.
Does Defense Tech Investing Require a Different Skill Set?
Absolutely. You must understand the end market: what warfighters actually need, the economics of the battlefield, and procurement across different customer bases.
Sales cycles are longer and more bureaucratic. This isn’t “build a drone and sell it for crop monitoring.” It’s a different game.
What’s Your Advice for Founders and Investors Entering the Space?
- Founders: Build what warfighters need and will deploy. If the product is confusing or hard to use at the edge, you’ll fail. Maintain a tight feedback loop with operators.
- Investors (especially focused on Ukraine): Unless you’re prepared to build a substantial on-the-ground team with real domain expertise in Ukraine, you won’t be competitive. Either partner with a group like MITS Capital or replicate the footprint we’ve created. You need a presence in Ukraine to be effective.