The model the Ukrainian side described, partners who co-develop rather than vendors who demo, is the model we hold ourselves to on the investor side. We build next to the founder, and the user validates the capability.
At the Resilience Conference in London, reported by Resilience Media on 7 October 2026, Ukrainian military leaders told defence companies to stop treating Ukraine as a testing ground and to work with its units as partners. One panellist put it plainly: “The rules of warfare are written right now in Ukraine.”
What the Ukrainian side asked for
The ask was specific. Successful partnerships co-develop products around battlefield needs, with engineers working alongside Ukrainian military engineers. Practical support matters: equipment for testing, or paid integrations. Panellists urged firms to focus on specific battlefield problems rather than product specifications, because fast-changing threats can make systems obsolete within months. Demand was flagged for autonomy, cheaper missiles and artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
What this means for a Dutch seed-stage founder
For a Dutch seed-stage founder, this changes the job. A pitch deck full of specifications is worth less than one solved problem at the front. The user, not the investor, validates the capability. That demands proximity: to the unit, to the engineer on the other side, to the problem as it changes. Few seed-stage teams can build that proximity alone, and fewer can sustain it while also raising, hiring and shipping.
Our portfolio shows what that looks like. VYDAR, a Dutch company in our portfolio, builds GNSS-denied navigation and has achieved combat validation in Ukraine. The validation came from use, under conditions no specification sheet can simulate. That is the standard dual-use companies should aim for: capability proven by the people who depend on it.
Source: Resilience Media, 7 October 2026
European procurement is beginning to follow Ukraine’s lead: buyers increasingly want capability proven in use by the units that depend on it. For Dutch founders building for contested environments, the path runs through partnership with those units, exactly as the Ukrainian side asked in London. We expect the next generation of European defence companies to be built that way, and we intend to back the founders who build them.
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