International Companies with Ukrainian Roots
Before russia invaded Ukraine, businesses created in Ukraine and successfully performed internationally were rarely discussed. Many of them are very well-known outside of Eastern Europe. These companies support our country’s struggle for independence and freedom in current turbulent times.
Let’s look at those who are standing with Ukraine.
Ahrefs
Founded: 2010
Founder: Dmytro Gerasymenko
Ahrefs — a tool for SEO professionals that allows one to monitor the health index of the website, the number and quality of backlinks, and the number and quality of keywords. In addition, the tool helps to research the competitors' websites' promotions and select the necessary keys for organic search engine promotion.
Awards:
- Leader in SEO & SEM Software Award (2023)
- Leader in SEO & SEM Software Award (2022)
- Leader in Marketing Analytics Software Award (2021)
Total Funding Amount: n\a
Ajax Systems
Founded: 2011
Co-founder: Oleksandr Konotopskyi
Ajax Systems — manufacturer of wireless and wired security systems. Ajax — a wireless security system consisting of devices for protection against robbery, fire, and flooding — is the most popular and well-known product of the brand. The company's solutions have spread across 120 countries with over 6 million active users. Ajax Systems is headquartered in Kyiv.
Awards:
- Security or Fire ESG Initiative Of The Year (2023)
- Red Dot Award in three categories: KeyPad TouchScreen Jeweller, Ajax WaterStop Jeweller & LeaksProtect, and LightSwitch & Outlet (2024)
- Best Smart Home Security Equipment Manufacturer (2024)
Total Funding Amount: $11M
AXDRAFT
Founded: 2017
Founders: Oleg Zaremba, Yurii Zaremba
AXDRAFT — a contract management platform that significantly simplified the routines of legal specialists. It is an all-in-one solution that automates enterprise legal processes.
Awards:
- Document Management Platform of the Year (2020)
Total Funding Amount: $1.4M
Delfast
Founded: 2014
Founders: Daniel Tonkopiy, Sergiy Dovgopolyy, Sergiy Denysenko
Delfast — electric bicycle manufacturer. Their product hit the Guinness Book of World Records as an electric bicycle capable of traveling 230 miles (or 370 km) without recharging. In addition, delivery service using Delfast electric bicycles is the fastest in Kyiv: delivery throughout the city takes up to an hour. The Kickstarter platform helped raise the funds for the startup.
Awards:
- World Guinness Record (2017)
Total Funding Amount: $4.2M
Depositphotos
Founded: 2009
Founders: Dmytro Sergeev
Depositphotos — a content marketplace with over 200 million files: royalty-free stock photos, vector images, video clips, etc. The marketplace community consists of 100,000 authors.
Awards:
- Red Dot Award in Brands & Communication Design (2024)
Total Funding Amount: $8M
DressX
Founded: 2020
Founders: Daria Shapovalova, Natalia Modenova
DressX — a mobile app that allows one to buy digital clothing created by brands and 3D designers. It utilizes generative AI to create outfits from text prompts for photos/videos. Many digital platforms support the app.
Awards:
- LVMH Innovation Award Finalist (2022)
Total Funding Amount: $19.2M
Dmarket
Founded: 2017
Founders: Olexandr Kokhanovskyy, Tamara Slanova, Vlad Panchenko
Dmarket — cross-chain marketplace for NFT and virtual items trading. One of the world's largest trading platforms for NFT. With the DMarket technology, users can create meta-universes, brands, influencers, video games, etc.
Total Funding Amount: $26.2M
Gitlab
Founded: 2014
Co-founder: Dmytro Zaporozhets
Gitlab — a system that offers features similar to GitHub with a few extra merits. The users of this code repository management system for Git have their own repositories for free subscribers, a bug tracking system, and their wiki. It also allows developers to deploy the system on third-party services.
Awards:
- Google Cloud Technology Partner of the Year (2024)
- Best Engineering Team (2021)
- Best Company Work-Life Balance (2020)
- Best Company Perks & Benefits (2020)
- Best Company Compensation (2020)
Total Funding Amount: $413.5M
Grammarly
Founded: 2009
Founders: Alex Shevchenko, Dmytro Lider, Max Lytvyn
Grammarly — AI algorithms-based English spelling and grammar checker. The web app and extensions find mistakes and typos, improving content readability. Many other features are available to users for free. Grammarly has over 30 million daily users.
Awards:
- Best Company Culture (2021)
- Best Company for Women (2021)
- Best Company for Diversity (2021)
- Best Compensation and Best Company Happiness in Q3 (2021)
- Fastest Growing Products by Best Software Awards (2022)
Total Funding Amount: $400M
MacPaw
Founded: 2008
Founders: Oleksandr Kosovan
MacPaw — iOS and macOS software development company. CleanMyMac, Setapp, and Gemini Photos are MacPaw’s most famous products. The company’s products are popular - over 30 million users trust MacPaw.
Awards:
- Red Dot Award in Brands & Communication Design (2024) and UX Design Award (2024)
- Outstanding Product Design of the Red Dot Award for Gemini 2 app (2017)
- Consumer Product of the Year for Setapp on Product Hunt (2017)
Total Funding Amount: n\a
Petcube
Founded: 2012
Founders: Yaroslav Azhnyuk
Petcube — hardware solution with a smart camera that allows pet owners to watch, play, and feed their furry friends. The word about this product first spread in 2013 when the project raised $ 251,000 instead of the declared $100,000 on Kickstarter. Today, Petcube is not a startup anymore but a successful business.
Awards:
- Red Dot Awards in Product Design for Petcube Cam (2021), Petcube Bites 2 (2020), Petcube Play 2 (2020), Petcube Bites (2018)
Total Funding Amount: $14.1M
People.ai
Founded: 2016
Founders: Oleg Rogynskyy
People.ai — an all-round platform for marketing and sales management for B2B businesses.
Awards:
- Best Company Happiness (2021)
- Best Company Compensation (2021)
Total Funding Amount: $200M
Preply
Founded: 2012
Founders: Dmytro Voloshyn, Kirill Bigai
Preply — mobile and web solutions for finding foreign language teachers. As of 2022, Preply has more than 140,000 teachers from 203 countries teaching 50 languages.
Awards:
- The Revenue Hack of 2020 by Ukrainian Startup Awards (2020)
Total Funding Amount: $170M
Propertymate
Founded: 2018
Founders: Dan Hnatkovskyy
Propertymate — a platform for finding, comparing, and buying new houses. It operates with the help of data science to help buyers, real estate agents, and constructors analyze and find the property they need.
Awards:
- №2 in Best Early Stage Startups in Ukraine (2020)
Total Funding Amount: $40 M
Readdle
Founded: 2007
Founders: Andrian Budantsov, Igor Zhadanov
Readdle — a mobile application development company. Readdle’s apps — Spark, Documents, Scanner Pro, PDF Expert, and Calendars 5 — improve iOS performance.
Awards:
- Red Dot Award in Brands & Communication Design for Calendars (2021)
- Best Android App for Spark (2021)
- Golden Kitty Award in the Productivity category for Spark (2021)
- Editors' Choice by Apple for PDF Expert (2022)
Total Funding Amount: n\a
Reface
Founded: 2018
Founders: Den Dmitrenko, Dima Shvets, Ivan Altsybieiev, Kyrylo Syhyda, Oles Petriv, Roman Mogylnyi, Yaroslav Boiko
Reface — a top-rated mobile application that allows one to create personalized video content using artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.
Awards:
- Google Play Users’ Choice Awards (2020)
Total Funding Amount: $5.5M
Restream
Founded: 2014
Founders: Alexander Khuda, Andrew Surzhynskyi
Restream — a multi-streaming solution for cross-platform user interaction and analysis. Over 30 social networks have integrated the solution.
Total Funding Amount: $56.8M
This list is not comprehensive — we believe many more amazing startups and companies with Ukrainian roots exist. That is why we are ready to review this list and add more relevant information about Ukrainian technology businesses occupying their world economy niches.
And remember to support companies that help Ukraine defend peace in Europe!
Roman Zomko
Other articles