The British-Finnish venture fund Double Tap Investments made an investment in the Ukrainian defense startup Hard Cat Drones at the beginning of 2025. The startup specializes in developing innovative unmanned systems for riverine and maritime operations.
The deal amount has not been disclosed, but Double Tap Investments’ average investment ranges from $100,000 to $300,000.
Hard Cat Drones presented its solutions at IT Arena 2024, including a prototype of a kamikaze strike drone, which can also be used for seabed scanning, detecting enemy mines, providing navigational support for Ukrainian vessels, and reconnaissance. This system has already been tested at the request of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Thanks to the partnership with Double Tap Investments, the startup team is working on new models that will expand capabilities in defense and security.
Oleś Khudoba, co-founder of Double Tap Investments, noted that the collaboration with Hard Cat resulted from their participation in IT Arena 2024. Jan-Erik Saarinen, another co-founder of the fund, emphasized,
“This is a niche project, but extremely relevant for both Ukraine and Finland. We are confident the team can scale the product and make a significant contribution to strengthening the country’s defense capabilities.”
For Double Tap, this deal represents another step in accelerating the development of Ukrainian defense technologies and their entry into the European market.
