Gardar Venture Capital

Status

ACTIVE

Global HQ

Oslo, Norway

Countries of investment

Ukraine

Investment stages

Seed
Series A
Series B

Industries

Defense Tech
Aerospace
Cybersecurity

About
Gardar is an Oslo-based venture capital firm focused on backing Ukrainian defense technology founders. Their focus spans defense tech, drones, autonomous systems, and cybersecurity across Ukraine. The firm supports defense founders from seed through Series B stages.

Min check size: $250K
Max check size: $1.5M
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Investment Thesis

Gardar Venture Capital is a seed to Series B stage venture capital firm deploying capital across defense technology and dual-use sectors. They invest in early-stage defense tech companies rooted in the Ukrainian innovation ecosystem with technology proven under real operational conditions. The firm differentiates itself through Norwegian LP base and its Sandwater venture platform partnership.

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Manager's Experience

Managed by Erlend Prestgard (Managing Partner) and Torkel Engeness (Partner at Sandwater providing platform support). Backed by Sandwater with $466M+ AUM and Ferd AS, one of Norway's largest family-owned investment groups. Grew out of Munkene, a Norwegian volunteer investor organization supporting Ukraine. LP base includes Norway's wealthiest family investors including Johan H. Andresen, Jens Ulltveit-Moe, Christian Ringnes, and Gustav Witzøe.