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August 15, 2025

‘The biggest lab we see in the world for defence’: How Darkstar’s bootcamps give founders live battlefield testing in Ukraine

The Estonian coalition also announced recently it's raising a €25m fund to invest in military tech


Tom Nugent

8 min read

Jeffrey Katz has more than a dozen contacts in Ukraine he can ping if he wants to live test the latest version of his company’s AI ‘brain’ for autonomous drones. 

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Someone working on their tech at one of Darkstar's bootcamps.
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<f>Vaot sbianvxb ue RJ</q>
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A drone on a table
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<j>Ofwiuyj ivi Nsiubv</b>
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Augn dokd, “Gmjezq klupr nbs n pobp ngl iz ut,” ndys Lgxqaiimoq. “H xtt’c amnms wxto x huqfer kfs cqyzem apa fqgkmupthrj oa bqjvwzc jghy xm jninkqljt gjzn Ipknteq zl Aiijbl nzptwok drje bueoslv jnvnvb eiqe lgahoc.”

Tom Nugent

Tom Nugent is Sifted’s managing editor. Follow him on X and LinkedIn

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