From January 2022, Ukraine will apply a 20% tax on web-based services provided by foreign tech firms. According to the law, passed by parliament in June, foreign tech companies have to pay a 20% value-added tax, or VAT, for digital services they provide to local users. The law targets products
Ukrainian-Swiss startup Blocksport has raised $6 million in an initial coin offering, the company’s co-founder Volodymyr Liulka announced on Dec. 7. Investors included Chinese digital asset manager FBG Capital, the Dubai-based venture fund NewTribe VC, Mexican crypto platform MEXC, and Australian investors LVT Capital, among others. Initial coin offerings
How is Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin different from Pudge, a ghoulish hero from the hit game Dota 2? When they’re illustrated in the same style, framed by the same star wreathed in flame, perhaps not different enough to avoid legal problems in Ukraine. U.S. video game company Valve,
Ukrainian multimedia startup Pibox was accepted into the latest startup accelerator run by Techstars Toronto and raised $400,000 from Techstars, Adventures Lab, Globalive Capital, 70 Ventures and Presto Ventures. Pibox offers a platform making it easier for teams to work with multimedia files. According to the company's press release,
The 2023 census will be the first national census in Ukraine in over 20 years. The last one took place in 2021. Ukraine will be the second country in the world to collaborate with Apple on a national census after the U.S. Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov has
With MySat’s kit, space enthusiasts can assemble small satellites, the so-called CubeSats, to learn how they work. It contains sensors, 3D-printed frames, microcontrollers and an HD camera. One kit costs nearly $98. The company will start shipments in March. In the future, it will allow users to launch homemade
The Ministry of Digital Transformation has added seven new social services to the state-owned Diia website on Nov. 29 Ukrainians can now use Diia to apply for state subsidies and a pension, as well as obtain digital documents like insurance, income certificates for retirees and work experience certificates. There are
Avenga announced the deal on Nov. 25. The company didn’t disclose how much it paid, however, Forbes Ukraine reported that Ukrainian investors estimated the purchase at nearly $20 million. This is Avenga’s second acquisition in Ukraine. Close to 700 of Avenga’s 3,000 tech specialists work in
Professional esports athlete Olexandr Kostylev, 24, has become the gaming champion of the world at the prestigious Esports Awards. Kostylev, also known under his gaming nickname s1mple, competes in the online first-person shooter “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.” Since 2013, he has earned $1.3 million in 127 tournaments. Kostylev plays for
Max Lytvyn and Alex Shevchenko (pictured left and center), the founders of Ukraine’s most expensive tech startup Grammarly, have entered the list of the wealthiest Ukrainians. The assets of each are now worth at least $4 billion, according to Forbes Ukraine. This places them above oligarchs with household names,
Launched by the nonprofit WhiteRibbon Ukraine, the app is disguised as a menstrual cycle tracker. It can be used to call emergency services, document abuse and see a map of nearby police stations, medical centers and women’s aid organizations. The app also contains information on types of abuse and
The device called Scripter records voice messages and turns them into structured notes on a smartphone. Its developer, the Ukrainian startup Senstone, has raised $111,000 from 748 Kickstarter backers as of Nov. 21, according to founder Nazar Fedorchuk. He hopes to use the money to improve the device’s
According to a 2021 survey by the password manager NordPass, the most popular password in Ukraine this year was “qwerty.” The password is used by 370,000 Ukrainians. It also takes one second to crack. Other easy-to-hack passwords widely used in Ukraine include the world’s most-popular option “123456," as
This represents a sixfold increase from its $2.1 billion valuation in 2019, the startup announced on Nov. 18. In its latest round of funding, Grammarly attracted $200 million from investment firm Baillie Gifford, venture firm General Catalyst and accounts managed by investment manager BlackRock. Grammarly uses machine learning to
The all-in-one restaurant management system ORTY made it into the U.K. TechRound’s list of top food tech startups in 2021. Founded by Ukrainians, the Toronto-based startup developed an app for restaurants to track data, including customer orders, ingredient expiration dates, supplies, and marketing procedures. ORTY has received $105,
Three CERES electronic intelligence satellites were launched from a space center in French Guiana on Nov. 16 to enhance France’s surveillance capabilities. The satellites were sent off by the Vega rocket, equipped with a liquid propellant engine designed by Ukraine’s Pivdenne aerospace design bureau and built by the
The school plans to use this funding to expand in the American and European markets, its cofounder Anna Apostol said on Nov. 12. Mate Academy teaches programming online for free in exchange for 17% of its students’ first two years’ salary after employment. The company says it has over 1,
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