Defence Builder Announces Strategic Leadership Transition to Power International Partnerships

After successfully running two startup acceleration seasons and driving Ukraine’s defense-tech ecosystem, Defence Builder is moving into a new era: scaling into Europe and allied nations, building partnerships with leading universities and research institutions, attracting top academic talents, and expanding its investment community across borders and beyond.

As part of this strategic shift, Line Rindvig has been appointed CEO of Defence Builder. With an international background in venture building, early-stage scaling, and cross-border partnership programs, Line brings deep expertise in bridging Europe’s and Ukraine’s ecosystems. She will lead Defence Builder’s mission to turn Ukraine’s wartime innovation into shared security.

Leadership Transition

While Kateryna Bezsudna steps away from the CEO position, she retains her co-founding role in the project.

Defence Builder’s Track Record So Far

Founded in 2024, Defence Builder has already accelerated 16 startups across two batches. The startups have demonstrated solid progress: 5 solutions are battlefield-tested, 4 companies have closed investment rounds, and 9 have been verified with the military and representatives of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense. Alumni are closing rounds with EU & US investors and partnering with NATO manufacturers.

Defence Builder is building the full investment infrastructure for defense innovation. Alongside startup programs, the affiliated Defender Ventures fund already backs battlefield-proven technologies, giving investors direct access to top Ukrainian defense startups. To broaden that access, Defence Builder co-founders also launched Ukraine’s first syndicate investment platform for defense tech. For the first time, venture-backed defense startups – previously available only to a closed circle of funds – became open to a global community, starting from $1,000 checks. The response was unprecedented: in just a few weeks, over 820 investors from 35 countries committed more than $8M.

Together, this creates a unique pipeline – sourcing, validating, and scaling startups from the battlefield to global markets, while engaging both fund-type and private investors.

Next Milestones

Entering a new era, Defence Builder is setting new strategic goals focused on extending its activities to build a comprehensive defense tech innovation ecosystem. Defence Builder plans to:

• Expand its operations to European and Western allies’ ecosystems
• Build partnerships with leading universities and research institutions
• Foster strategic collaboration with key players in NATO countries
• Become an entry point for private & venture investors in Ukraine’s defense ecosystem
• Develop a strong investment community around defense innovation worldwide

While acting internationally, Defence Builder will keep up and intensify its work with startups in Ukraine. The platform is now preparing to launch its 3rd season of the startup acceleration program. Startups can apply now and join the waiting list for the 3rd batch through the link.

About Defence Builder

Defence Builder is a platform for the development of defense tech innovation founded in 2024 by Sigma Software Labs, KSE, and Buntar Aerospace. The founding team brings over 10 years of experience in venture and tech, with more than $55 million invested in 120+ startups. The platform plays an active role in shaping the global tech ecosystem, supporting defense innovation, and forming the pipeline of acceleration, mentoring, advising, funding, and match-making.