Stockholm-based Varangians, a new DefenceTech-focused investment fund co-founded by Beetroot founder Andreas Flodström, has closed at over €9.1 million (100 million kronor) to back Ukraine’s DefenceTech ecosystem.
The fund has already completed investments in Ukrainian DefenceTech companies including Norda Dynamics, Himera and Sine Engineering, while a fourth portfolio company remains confidential.
Varangians Co-founders Pär Lager, Andreas Flodström and Jonas Rydin said: “We founded Varangians because we have seen how Ukrainian engineers innovate under fire; producing low-cost, effective tech that Europe urgently needs.”
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.
Varangians was founded by a leading Swedish family office alongside entrepreneurs Pär Lager, Andreas Flodström and Jonas Rydin, bringing together experience in technology, defence, entrepreneurship and Ukraine.
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.
Their current portfolio:
- Norda Dynamics is developing an autonomous UAV piloting system for mission execution in communication-deprived environments.
- Himera builds user-friendly, EW-resistant secure communications systems for civil and emergency use.
- Sine Engineering is working on a next-generation UAV communication and positioning platform for contested environments involving jamming, interference and spoofing.
- According to Varangians’ 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.
Varangians’ 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.
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.
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.
For the fund, the name is intended to reflect a renewed link between Sweden and Ukraine through technology, resilience and defence innovation.
Flodström is best known as the co-founder of Beetroot, the Swedish-Ukrainian tech ecosystem founded in Stockholm in 2012 by Flodström 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.
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.
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.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/06/ukraine-focused-defencetech-fund-varangians-closes-e9-1-million-in-stockholm/
