{"id":106677,"date":"2026-06-12T16:21:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/106677\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T16:21:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:21:09","slug":"ukraine-focused-defencetech-fund-varangians-closes-e9-1-million-in-stockholm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/106677\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine-focused DefenceTech fund Varangians closes \u20ac9.1 million in Stockholm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stockholm-based Varangians<\/a>, a new DefenceTech-focused investment fund co-founded by Beetroot founder Andreas Flodstr\u00f6m, has closed at over \u20ac9.1 million (100 million kronor) to back Ukraine\u2019s DefenceTech ecosystem.<\/p>\n

The fund has already completed investments in Ukrainian DefenceTech companies including Norda Dynamics, Himera and Sine Engineering, while a fourth portfolio company remains confidential.<\/p>\n

Varangians Co-founders P\u00e4r Lager, Andreas Flodstr\u00f6m and Jonas Rydin said: \u201cWe founded Varangians because we have seen how Ukrainian engineers innovate under fire; producing low-cost, effective tech that Europe urgently needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Founded in 2025, Varangians will invest primarily in Ukrainian DefenceTech startups, while also considering non-Ukrainian companies working across military and civil defence. The fund is focused on high-impact technologies being developed and tested in real frontline conditions, with particular attention on unmanned systems, electronic warfare, strategic communications, demining, secure communications, and selected dual-use technologies.<\/p>\n

Varangians was founded by a leading Swedish family office alongside entrepreneurs P\u00e4r Lager, Andreas Flodstr\u00f6m and Jonas Rydin, bringing together experience in technology, defence, entrepreneurship and Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Its stated mission is to strengthen Ukraine through DefenceTech investments, while supporting the re-arming of Sweden, the Nordics and wider Europe through Ukrainian innovation, experience and systems.<\/p>\n

Their current portfolio:<\/p>\n

Norda Dynamics is developing an autonomous UAV piloting system for mission execution in communication-deprived environments.
\nHimera builds user-friendly, EW-resistant secure communications systems for civil and emergency use.
\nSine Engineering is working on a next-generation UAV communication and positioning platform for contested environments involving jamming, interference and spoofing.
\nAccording to Varangians\u2019 website, their fourth confidential company is described as a manufacturer of UAVs, UGVs and components for unmanned systems, as well as providing drone pilot training and an R&D lab for innovation and testing.<\/p>\n

Varangians\u2019 model combines targeted scouting, context-aware evaluation and active support after investment. The team says it identifies promising companies through Ukrainian defence innovation ecosystems and trusted networks, then assesses them through a combination of technical insight, operational relevance and governance standards.<\/p>\n

It also offers consulting services for organisations looking to establish operations in Ukraine, including support with local partners, security and risk planning, field testing, field engineering and frontline-driven R&D.<\/p>\n

The name Varangians refers to the Swedish Vikings who travelled to Ukraine and Kyiv around the year 800 and played a role in the early history of the region alongside Ukrainians.<\/p>\n

For the fund, the name is intended to reflect a renewed link between Sweden and Ukraine through technology, resilience and defence innovation.<\/p>\n

Flodstr\u00f6m is best known as the co-founder of Beetroot, the Swedish-Ukrainian tech ecosystem founded in Stockholm in 2012 by Flodstr\u00f6m and Gustav Henman. Beetroot began as a backpack startup and has since grown into an international tech company and social enterprise, engaging more than 400 people across its headquarters in Sweden and R&D locations in Ukraine, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Moldova and Vietnam.<\/p>\n

The launch of Varangians comes as venture capital interest in DefenceTech continues to rise across Europe, with Ukraine increasingly seen as a key source of battle-tested innovation.<\/p>\n

By backing startups solving real frontline problems, the fund is positioning itself around technologies that can support Ukraine now while also strengthening European security in the long term.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stockholm-based Varangians, a new DefenceTech-focused investment fund co-founded by Beetroot founder Andreas Flodstr\u00f6m, has closed at over \u20ac9.1…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106678,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[83],"tags":[54202,54203,54204,54205,54206,54207,54208,54209,54210,54211,54212,54213,131,132,241,54214,618],"class_list":["post-106677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-stockholm","tag-360-capital","tag-andreas-flodstrom","tag-beetroot","tag-defencetech","tag-dtcp","tag-himera","tag-jonas-rydin","tag-kembara","tag-norda-dynamics","tag-par-lager","tag-seraphim-space","tag-sine-engineering","tag-stockholm","tag-sweden","tag-ukraine","tag-varangians","tag-viking"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/116738057076865694","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}