From Battlefield to Boardroom: How Ivan Matveichenko’s Mission is Shaping the Future of Defense Technology
The modern defense industry is being reshaped by rapid innovation on the frontlines, where real-world urgency demands new approaches that outpace traditional models. In this interview with Ivan Matveichenko—combat veteran, finance professional, and CEO of Trypillian—to explore his extraordinary journey from international finance to active military service, and ultimately to building one of Ukraine’s most dynamic defense technology companies. Ivan shares how frontline experience and the realities of war inspired him to create agile, affordable autonomous systems, bridging Ukrainian ingenuity with Western business standards. Discover how Trypillian is redefining defense innovation for a new era and why rapid adaptation, real-time feedback, and global collaboration will shape the future of warfare.
Ivan, what inspired you to transition from a career in finance to active military service, and eventually founding a defense technology company?
It’s fair to say that my transition wasn’t something I planned; circumstances and responsibility shaped it. I had spent years working in finance abroad, including with IBM, and eventually returned to Ukraine in 2014. I worked for various Ukrainian companies and planned to launch my own real estate development business. We were preparing to break ground in early 2022 when the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine changed everything.
My family and I had a strong sense that war was imminent. Two days before the full-scale invasion, we left Kyiv. I ensured my wife was safely relocated, and I joined the Armed Forces during the second week of the war. I felt it was my duty to defend my country, so it wasn’t a difficult decision.
I served on the Bakhmut and Soledar frontlines and was injured. While I was recovering in a military hospital, I connected with Brooks Newmark, and we started discussing ways to support Ukraine more strategically. Initially, we considered investing in existing defense start-ups, but we quickly realised that we needed something faster and more focused that was built from the ground up.
And that’s how Trypillian was born: out of frontline experience, deep frustration with existing solutions, and the shared belief that Ukraine has the talent and sense of urgency required to lead the way in defense innovation.
Can you walk us through Trypillian’s technology stack and the specific defense solutions you’re building?
At Trypillian, we are focused on developing autonomous combat systems that address the most urgent tactical needs on the modern battlefield. Our current portfolio includes game-changing deep strike capabilities and frontline payload delivery vehicles, each at a different stage of development.
The Deep Strike platform is our flagship project. We are building it in collaboration with a consortium of Ukrainian and British companies, each of which is contributing its expertise in areas such as aerodynamics, navigation, warhead development, and control systems. Trypillian serves as the lead integrator and project manager to ensure that all components come together to form a cohesive and scalable system.
In addition, we are finalising our Bomber drone system, which is set to launch this summer. Designed for shorter-range tactical use, it offers high reliability and impact. In parallel, we are engaged in research on other potential products – more on that later.
All our R&D is conducted in Ukraine in close collaboration with military units, ensuring that we solve real operational problems with practical and affordable solutions.
How does Trypillian differentiate itself from traditional defense manufacturers?
Trypillian’s approach differs from that of legacy defense firms. We operate as a lean, agile team of 15 people based in Ukraine and the UK, and we don’t intend to grow beyond 30–50 people. Our goal is to keep the core team focused on high-impact R&D, project management, and business operations. We don’t build or operate our own factories. Instead, we collaborate with specialised manufacturers who produce our systems according to our designs and specifications. This structure enables us to remain flexible, efficient, and fast.
We also bring a unique blend of frontline experience and international business expertise. Many of our team members are veterans, and that firsthand combat insight shapes our mission. Our solutions are not designed in isolation; they are created in response to real battlefield feedback and tested in real-world conditions.
Ultimately, we see ourselves not as a traditional arms company but as a mission-driven ecosystem builder, combining battlefield urgency, technical ingenuity, and Western operational standards to deliver effective systems immediately, rather than in five years.
Given your military background and now entrepreneurial experience, what critical gaps or opportunities do you see in the defense market that established players are overlooking?
One major gap is the disconnect between speed and scale. Traditional defense companies often operate with long timelines, large budgets, and rigid processes, which simply do not match the pace or needs of a modern battlefield. In Ukraine, everything is happening in real time. This creates opportunities for smaller, more agile teams to develop and deploy targeted tools quickly.
Another overlooked area is modularity and cost-efficiency. Many legacy systems are expensive, overengineered, and difficult to scale up. But in practice, what’s needed is simplicity, interoperability, and affordability — especially when you’re dealing with a 1,000-kilometer front line. That’s why we’ve built Trypillian around those principles, focusing on autonomous systems that are both adaptable and scalable.
There’s also a huge opportunity in bridging Western capital with Ukrainian engineering talent. Ukraine has some of the most creative technical minds in defense, but has very limited access to funding and business infrastructure. This low level of support does not reflect either the urgency of the war or Ukraine’s growing strategic value to the West. Trypillian aims to bridge that gap — connecting battlefield-born ideas with Western capital and industrial standards.
Can you tell us about a time when real-world battlefield feedback forced you to pivot or significantly change one of your products?
As I’ve said before, our flagship project is deep strike UAV. Currently, every successful deep strike mission is tailor-made and likely won’t work twice. It sometimes requires months in preparation, analysis, and mission planning. Therefore, every successful mission carried out by Ukraine’s Defence Forces closes certain windows of opportunity as the enemy adapts to our tactics. Therefore, constant feedback from the military is critical to stay up-to-date on what works and what doesn’t. For example, operation SpiderWeb had a major impact on how both Ukraine and Russia think about operational security on their critical infrastructure objects. Something we monitor closely and take notes on.
With the exponential growth of battlefield data from sensors, drones, and satellites, how can defense organizations ensure that data-centric strategies translate into actionable, real-time insights for decision-makers at every level?
One of the biggest challenges — and opportunities — for modern defense organisations is ensuring that data-centric strategies translate into real-time, actionable insights. The exponential increase in battlefield data from drones, sensors, and satellites only becomes valuable when it leads to faster and smarter decisions at every operational level.
I believe the key lies in the close integration of hardware, software, and the user experience. Data must be filtered, prioritised, and delivered in intuitive formats for frontline operators, not just analysts in remote command centres.
This requires the development of autonomous, modular systems to reduce the burden on human operators while ensuring interoperability with existing command-and-control platforms to prevent insights from being lost in isolated architectures.
Ultimately, the focus should be on having the right data delivered at the right moment to the people who need it most. This philosophy informs our R&D roadmap and explains why we collaborate closely with active military units.
How do you see the future of European defense manufacturing evolving, and what role will Trypillian play?
The future of European defense manufacturing lies in decentralisation, speed, and adaptability. Traditional procurement models, which are characterised by long timelines, rigid processes, and expensive platforms, are no longer fit for purpose or sustainable in the long run. The current war in Ukraine has already proven that agility, modularity, and affordability are requirements, not just advantages.
We believe that the future lies in establishing a new layer of defense manufacturing that is faster, more streamlined, and closer to the battlefield. Trypillian is positioned to help lead this transition. Our role is to connect cutting-edge Ukrainian innovation with Western capital and NATO-standard operational frameworks.
We also intend to demonstrate that Ukraine, with its wealth of technical expertise and combat-proven concepts, can play a pivotal role in Europe’s defense ecosystem.
Trypillian recently secured an angel investment of $5M. How will this funding accelerate your mission?
This $5 million investment is more than just angel funding — it’s a commitment from our co-founder and chairman, Brooks Newmark, who joined Trypillian as a true partner in building the company from the ground up.
This investment will go toward expanding R&D in Ukraine, developing the product portfolio, and strengthening the company’s international presence. Our main focus is on developing new technological solutions and hiring highly qualified specialists.
If you could set one “moonshot” goal for the defense technology industry over the next decade, what would it be—and why?
To take infantrymen off the battlefield. Infantry is where casualties are the highest, and the psychological toll is the greatest. Holding the line is a very tough, but up until recently, very necessary job that somebody had to do. Now we are approaching a point where it seems like having a guy in the trench is no longer necessary. He can be replaced with UGVs, automated turrets, etc. If we can do that, that will be one of the most significant milestones in warfare ever. And it seems like we are very close!
What message would you like to share with the broader defense and industrial community?
The defense industry must evolve, and that process must begin immediately. Ukraine is not only defending itself; it is also developing, testing, and adapting the tools that will shape 21st-century warfare. This presents a rare and urgent opportunity for the Western defense sector to learn from a country that is experiencing a real, modern war every day.
We must establish strategic partnerships that combine battlefield knowledge with industrial expertise and funding. The longer we delay integrating Ukraine’s innovations into our shared security architecture, the greater the risk of being unprepared for tomorrow’s wars.
