| IT & Startups |
The Ukrainian technology company BlueBird Tech will take part in NASA's Dragonfly space mission: the brand name and a mention of Ukraine will be applied to a special silicon microchip that will reach Titan — the largest moon of Saturn.
Data centers for AI are massively searching the world for used gas turbines — in particular, they are restoring mothballed equipment and converting decommissioned jet engines.
Ukrainian venture fund WildField Ventures has invested about $750,000 in two DefTech startups at the pre-seed and seed stages. The fund's partner, Maksym Zubenko, said this in an interview with AIN.
The valuation of a foreign Defense Tech startup can be five times higher than that of a Ukrainian company with similar technology, said Maksym Zubenko, a partner at WildField Ventures, in an interview with AIN.
Over the past four weeks, the Ukrainian fund WildField Ventures has received about 40 applications from Defense Tech startups, says the fund's partner and Chief Growth Officer of Dwarf Engineering, Maksym Zubenko. "80% do not meet the fund's investment strategy and will receive a rejection," he adds.
In brief: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is seeking at least €500 million ($545 million) to repair the New Safe Confinement at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant after a Russian drone strike punctured its protective arch.
Nasdaq plunged 5.5% after the Democrats' victory in the US midterm elections. This is linked to the risk of increased regulatory pressure on the AI industry and a slowdown in the construction of new data centers.
The Ukrainian agency ENTER ESPORT is changing its name to ENTER and completing its business model pivot. The company is moving away from its focus on esports, switching to providing full-cycle influencer marketing services. The team presented the updated positioning at the international SiGMA World conference in Rome.
The Lviv IT Cluster is changing leadership for the second time in 2026. Mykhailo Lemak, who took over the organization only in July, is stepping down due to deteriorating health. On November 16, former head of the Ukrainian Startup Fund Pavlo Kartashov will become the new CEO.

Gary Lawson has become the second announced member of the advisory board of the Ukrainian defense company Buntar Aerospace. He founded Tactical Edge Ventures, previously worked at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, and served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.
