Exclusive: Ukrainian defense tech firm lands first US-Ukraine 'minerals fund' deal
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Just over a year after a dramatic Oval Office clash derailed the now-infamous "minerals deal," the fund it spawned is making its first move, backing Ukraine's defense tech sector as global conflicts intensify.
The first of three investments planned this year by the fund — officially known as the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund — will go to Sine Engineering, a Ukrainian dual-use military technology company, two people familiar with the deal told the Kyiv Independent.
The deal is expected to be formally announced by Ukraine and the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) that jointly created the fund with Kyiv this week, a source said. The DFC is currently in Kyiv to discuss the fund with its Ukrainian counterparts.
The size of the investment is not yet known.
The minerals deal was contentious from the outset, after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed using Ukraine’s "rare earth" resources as repayment for U.S. military aid. Early drafts, leaked to the press, drew sharp criticism and raised concerns that Washington was seeking unprecedented control over Ukraine’s critical minerals.
Ukrainian officials pushed back, and the deal was ultimately reshaped into a first-of-its-kind arrangement. It is now a jointly managed, private equity–style fund between two sovereign nations targeting strategic sectors such as technology, energy, and minerals, a senior U.S. official said in Kyiv in January.
Since a portal went live earlier this year to accept applications, over 130 projects have been submitted to the fund.
For the first ten years, all profits from the fund will be reinvested in Ukraine's economy, with Kyiv and Washington allocating $75 million each in seed capital last September.
Sine Engineering is a Lviv-based startup co-founded in 2022 by tech entrepreneur Andriy Chulyk, the company's current CEO. Other owners, according to Ukrainian company registry YouControl, are Bohdan Tymkiv and Ostap Ferensovych.
YouControl also shows that the Ukrainian company Sine Engineering is owned by Sine Strategic Group, Inc., which is registered in the United States. The three owners are recorded in the Ukrainian registry as the ultimate beneficial owners.
Since it's inception, Sine has grown from a small group of five volunteers into a 200-person team, which recently won a NATO Innovation Range award in December.
The company has made a name for itself for its satellite-independent navigation software, enabling drones to fly without relying on GPS. More recently, it's developed technology that allows mass control of drones so multiple can be operated by one pilot at the same time, Chulyk told DOU in an interview.
Sine serves over 100 drone manufacturers — both from Ukraine and abroad — shielding their products from jamming and interference in the front line’s GPS-denied zones, he said.
Since its technology is dual-use, it can sell its products to the foreign market, unlike most Ukrainian drone makers that are bound by export restrictions.
