Ukrainian IT-entrepreneur Evgeny Utkin has initiated the creation of a networked cluster, presented as an association of high-tech companies and venture capital investors who specialize in the production of dual-use goods to support the security and defense of Ukraine.
The cluster will be managed by the newly established Ukrainian Agency for Promising Scientific and Technological Developments (UA.RPA), whose format was inspired by the US organization DARPA, reports Ukrainian publication Liga Biznes.
According to Utkin, the aim of the cluster is to create from scratch a new national high-tech industry focused on public-private partnerships. The cluster is built on the network principle, which means it is open to new players, including from abroad. The focus on dual-use products is expected to attract investors and make the project profitable, with Ukrainian IT business veteran Bogdan Kupich responsible for attracting new investments.
In the short term, the cluster will focus on developing solutions that reduce the risk of death. Cluster priorities include unmanned systems, secure communications systems, increasing the accuracy of weapons, biometric and medical sensors, specialized uniforms, computer-aided command and control, and a logistics management system.
According to the creators of the cluster, some inventions are already in use in the combat area of eastern Ukraine, but most are still in the development stage.
Another initiative in the same field came in October last year. As reported by Ukraine Digital News, high-tech entrepreneur Alexander Olshansky launched a business incubator called Voenkubator (which can be translated as ‘Armincubator’) to develop promising startups in the military and intelligence fields.
