cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/12469538
A Ukraine-rooted drone maker that emerged as a $1 billion defense startup during the country’s campaign to stop Russia’s invasion aims to increase cooperation in Taiwan as well as Japan, a top executive said, shining a light on Kyiv’s low-key and often indirect ties with Taipei.
“We’re looking for a significant amount of capability” from Taiwan, Sean Plankey, U.S. CEO of Uforce, said in an interview. “So we’re looking for controllers, speed controls, electric motors, boats and then propellers. Looking for all those things from them.”
Formed out of nine merged companies, Uforce is led by CEO Oleg Rogynskyy, a Ukraine-born Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and Chairman Oleksiy Honcharuk, Ukraine’s former prime minister. Ben Wallace, who was U.K. defense secretary and helped orchestrate the international response to Russia’s invasion, is also on the board.
Although Uforce embodies Ukrainian defense expertise and technology, it is legally registered in the U.K. and headquartered in London. The company made news this year when it raised $50 million in a funding round at a valuation above $1 billion, leading reports to call it the first Ukrainian defense tech unicorn.
“Japan and Taiwan are exceptional partners that we seek to work with,” Plankey said. “In Japan, we are also looking at the supply chain. Japan has a number of great products and great components that work inside our systems, so we are always looking at that and seeing where we can continue to grow Uforce.”
Uforce’s flagship Magura unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) have been active in Ukraine’s fight against Russia, and the company is known for developing autonomous multi-domain systems for sea, land and air. More recently, its technology has been integrated into U.S. military drills in the Asia-Pacific region, and Rogynskyy traveled to Tokyo for talks with Japanese officials and defense contractors on co-producing thousands of drones.
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