Europe is entering a decisive decade — one that will redefine the future of defence, security, and strategic autonomy. At the heart of this transformation lies Ukraine.
Under the pressure of full-scale war, Ukraine has transformed into the fastest-moving defence innovation hub in the world. This is not theoretical research or speculative technology. It is battlefield-proven, operationally relevant innovation — tested under fire, adapted in real time, and directly shaping the next generation of European defence systems.
Northern Defence Investment Horizon (NODIH) is the specialised Nordic advisory and investment-execution partner built to connect European institutional capital with this ecosystem — safely, professionally, and with full lifecycle management.
Ukraine is currently the most active and combat-proven defence innovation environment in the world. Unlike traditional Western R&D pipelines, Ukrainian ventures innovate through necessity:
The result: technologies that are modular, scalable, cost-efficient, and already deployed — across drones, electronic warfare, robotics, AI-enabled targeting, sensors, and advanced manufacturing.
Across Europe, demand for scalable defence innovation is exploding. In response to war in Ukraine and rising geopolitical instability, European governments have committed over €800 billion to modernisation, rearmament, and strategic autonomy. This includes massive procurement efforts by NATO, the EU, and national forces.
Yet the market faces a fundamental constraint:
Traditional defence contractors cannot move fast enough. National innovation systems are slow, fragmented, and unfit for the urgent needs of modern defence. This creates an unprecedented market gap — and a once-in-a-generation investment opportunity.
Meanwhile, Europe faces a historic imbalance:
Ukraine has the technology. Europe has the demand.
What’s missing is structured capital and professional execution — this is the gap NODIH fills.
As institutional capital moves toward Ukrainian defence, competition and valuations will rise.
The next 12–24 months represent a rare window to secure:
This is not just an opportunity — it is a strategic moment for investors who want to shape Europe’s future defence capabilities.
NODIH is not a fund.
We are an advisory and execution partner for investors allocating EUR 25–500 million into defence and dual-use technologies.
We design, structure, manage and execute investments in Ukrainian defence ventures — from first screening to post-investment acceleration.
We bring Scandinavian investment discipline and deep Ukrainian ecosystem access into one unified model.
You allocate capital. You make your Investment Committee available.
We manage the entire investment lifecycle.
For mandates of EUR 25–500 million:
Management Fee (based on allocated capital)
Success Fee
This model ensures alignment, transparency, and disciplined capital deployment.
At NODIH, capital is never deployed on assumptions or optimism.
We design milestone-driven investment structures for our clients, ensuring that capital is released only when ventures demonstrate verifiable progress, operational readiness, and commercial feasibility.
Rather than committing full investment amounts upfront, we help investors structure staged commitments tied to clearly defined checkpoints, such as:
By aligning capital release with hard evidence, investors gain:
This structured approach is particularly critical in defence innovation — where technical complexity, regulatory constraints, and rapid iteration require professional oversight, investor-grade documentation, and hands-on execution throughout the entire lifecycle.
NODIH focuses exclusively on areas with both battlefield relevance and European strategic importance:
These are the domains where Europe faces the sharpest capability gaps — and where Ukrainian innovation is strongest.
Most Ukrainian startups have exceptional engineers, field-tested products, and a sharp understanding of the battlefield. What they lack is the structure to scale:
NODIH delivers this bridge — enabling these companies to meet NATO, EU, and allied defence requirements, while delivering strong long-term returns for our customers.
Our role is not just to invest. It is to build capacity, reduce risk, and unlock commercial viability for technologies that matter — to security, to society, and to your portfolio.
Continuous screening of Ukraine’s defence ecosystem: founders, labs, clusters and frontline-validated solutions.
A three-stage, evidence-based validation framework covering technical, operational and financial readiness.
DCF, milestone-based and scenario-based valuations suitable for institutional ICs.
Western-standard governance, investor protections, and documentation.
Legal, technical and financial DD orchestrated with specialist partners.
Support with scaling, certification, industrial integration and exit strategy.
This creates a disciplined, controlled and transparent pathway for large-scale investors wanting exposure to frontier defence innovation.
In the world of early-stage defence investment, access and validation are everything. NODIH offers both — in ways few others can.
Our operational team is based in Lviv, Ukraine, with direct access to the country’s most advanced defence ventures, military operators, and technical institutions. This embedded presence gives us a privileged position:
The combination of urgency, talent density, and battlefield access has created a defence ecosystem unmatched anywhere in the world. It is fast, cost-efficient, adaptive — and strategically aligned with European security needs.
Investing here is not only profitable. It is necessary for Europe’s long-term stability.
Since 2018, our leadership has been active inside Ukraine’s emerging defence ecosystem. This long-term presence has created deep working relationships with:
We are not external observers — we are part of the innovation engine. This ensures that NODIH has early, qualified access to ventures with field-tested technology, unmet capital needs, and clear paths to defence integration.
To ensure every investment meets the highest operational and technical standards, NODIH has built a dedicated validation architecture in partnership with Ukraine’s top institutions:
These partnerships enable us to deliver structured, third-party assessments of each venture’s:
Each startup is evaluated through NODIH’s proprietary six-dimension assessment framework — generating a transparent Readiness Score, risk profile, and acceleration roadmap.
Ukrainian defence startups are exceptional at solving problems under pressure. But few are born investor-ready.
They often lack:
NODIH bridges this gap — helping founders turn proven prototypes into validated ventures, ready to engage with NATO-aligned forces and international procurement frameworks.
By combining early access, local knowledge, and structured validation, we create an environment where:
This is not just due diligence. It is hands-on value creation — for ventures, for investors, and for Europe’s defence resilience.
NODIH is purpose-built to invest where innovation meets operational urgency. We target ventures that develop defence technologies with high strategic relevance, strong potential for scale, and real-world battlefield validation.
Our investment scope spans across the core domains of modern warfare, with a focus on technologies that are modular, adaptable, and dual-use by design.
We invest in startups and early-growth ventures working within:
1. Aerial Systems (UAVs)
2. Ground Robotics (UGVs)
3. Maritime Drones
4. Electronic Warfare & Counter-UAS
5. Defence Components & Systems Integration
6. Supply Chain & Production Resilience
Our mission is not to bet on the next unicorn — it is to back the technologies that will form the infrastructure of European defence in the coming decade.
All ventures we invest in are evaluated for their ability to meet three core criteria:
We strongly favour technologies that are interoperable with existing NATO and EU defence systems — ensuring smoother adoption and longer-term viability.
NODIH enters at the early-stage to early-growth level — typically pre-Series A through Series B.
Our structured model allows us to guide ventures from:
We shape ventures into compliant, contract-ready suppliers — equipped for NATO-aligned defence markets and long-term resilience. This is where innovation meets infrastructure. And where smart capital drives real impact.
Investing in early-stage defence ventures — particularly in an active war zone — requires more than ambition. It requires discipline, structure, and a professional approach to risk.
At NODIH, we address this head-on. We don’t promise hype. We deliver risk-managed access to one of the most strategically important and under-capitalized innovation environments in the world.
Defence innovation is complex. It carries three categories of risk:
NODIH operates with full legal oversight from defence-specialized law firms. All ventures must adhere to:
Governance is handled by an independent investment committee, and reporting is delivered quarterly and annually with full risk disclosure.
Behind every successful investment platform is a team — not just with vision, but with the ability to execute under pressure, across borders, and within complexity.
NODIH is built by operators, not observers. Our leadership brings together decades of experience in venture building, defence innovation, finance, legal structuring, and international scaling — anchored by a permanent presence in Ukraine since 2018.
We know the terrain — technically, commercially, and culturally. And we are trusted by those who matter most: founders, institutions, and front-line innovators.
Founder, investor, and on-the-ground operator.
Jakob holds a Master of Science in Finance and Accounting and has founded and scaled multiple companies across Europe and internationally.
Since relocating to Lviv, Ukraine in 2018, Jakob has been deeply embedded in the local innovation ecosystem — contributing to both defence and humanitarian infrastructure projects, including:
He also serves as Visiting Professor of Innovation and Startups at Lviv Polytechnic National University.
In 2023, Jakob was awarded the Ukrainian State Medal of Merit for his contributions to national resilience through defence technology.
At NODIH, he leads venture selection, ecosystem partnerships, and strategic direction — combining a hands-on mindset with long-term vision.
Operational strategist and venture architect.
Jakob von Cappeln brings deep expertise in process optimization, automation, and organizational scaling.
He has built and led operational teams across industries, helping startups and growth-stage ventures design:
At NODIH, he heads Danish operations and acts as a hands-on scaling partner for portfolio companies — ensuring they grow not only with great technology, but with robust execution.
Specialist in venture assessment, data verification and operational due diligence.
Oleh leads the structured validation process for Ukrainian defence ventures, including:
Based in Ukraine, he provides on-the-ground insight into local defence innovation and ensures that only ventures with genuine operational relevance and scale potential progress through our pipeline.
Financial analyst specialising in valuation, modelling and investment-case design.
Nikolaj supports NODIH’s investment and validation work with:
His ability to combine analytical precision with strategic insight ensures that every investment case is grounded in solid financial evidence and aligned with institutional investor expectations.
Institutional investors, investor associations, defence-aligned funds, and family offices allocating EUR 25–500M.
Always a minimum of 50 validated ventures, with 5–8 at Investment Committee readiness.
Typically 6–12 weeks from mandate signing to first executed investment.
Technology risk, production risk, and geopolitical risk — all mitigated through staged validation, milestone-based structuring, and full DD processes.
European defence corporates, NATO procurement environments, dual-use commercialisation, and strategic industrial partnerships — all rapidly accelerating.
No. NODIH provides full advisory, validation, structuring and execution.
Europe needs scalable defence innovation.
NODIH provides the structure, access, and disciplined execution that transforms battlefield-proven technology into institutional-grade investments. We bridge Nordic governance with deep Ukrainian ecosystem access — giving you a controlled, de-risked, and strategically aligned pathway into one of Europe’s most urgent and high-potential markets.
This is not passive allocation. This is targeted, high-conviction investment into ventures that matter. By acting now, investors secure early access to Ukraine’s strongest defence technologies, favourable entry valuations, and a direct role in shaping the emerging European defence architecture.
This is the moment for serious, long-term investors to influence the future of European security — not by observing change, but by enabling it. If you are ready to deploy structured capital into the fastest-moving defence ecosystem in the world, NODIH stands ready to guide, validate, and execute alongside you.
