New Norwegian fund Gardar plans to invest €100m in Ukrainian defence tech

Norwegian venture firm Sandwater has launched Gardar, a new fund dedicated to investing in Ukrainian defence tech companies from Seed to Series B stages. The founders have already raised €80m and plan to increase that figure to €100m. Gardar will back technologies already proven on the battlefield and aims to help scale solutions that could shape Europe's future security architecture.

Gardar was established with support from Sandwater, Norwegian investment company Ferd, and Munkene, a volunteer organisation supporting Ukraine. The fund will operate on Sandwater’s investment platform while maintaining an independent team led by managing partner Erlend Prestgard.

According to the fund's founders, Ukrainian defence startups have demonstrated exceptional innovation and resilience during the war, creating technologies with relevance far beyond Ukraine. Gardar's backers argue that supporting these companies is both an investment opportunity and a contribution to strengthening Europe's long-term security.

The fund is backed primarily by Norwegian family offices and private investors. Among its supporters are several of Norway's most prominent business figures, according to local media reports.

The Gardar fund grew out of Munkene – a non-profit initiative through which Norwegian businessmen contributed their knowledge and money to benefit Ukraine’s defence sector. It was founded by alumni of the Norwegian Armed Forces’ elite Russian language and area studies. This group of former coursemates had been closely connected with Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Over the past year, the team screened more than 150 companies, met with a hundred of them and invested in four: Buntar Aerospace, Lazr, Pai Defence and one unnamed manufacturer.

This article first appeared on Defender Media and is republished here with permission.