Sergey Tokarev, an IT investor and co-founder of Roosh, announced that the proceeds from the charity auction at the Web Summit 2023 for the Ukrainian military exceeded all expectations, reaching an impressive amount of more than 1.5 million Ukrainian hryvnia, which is about 40,000 euros.
At the Web Summit 2023, many Ukrainian IT teams presented their innovative products to investors, participated in live discussions with representatives of leading international media and established thousands of new contacts. According to Sergey Tokarev, this forum has become not only a platform for technological innovations but also a center where strategic partnerships and opportunities for the long-term development of the Ukrainian IT sector are created.
Web Summit 2023 highlighted artificial intelligence as one of the most important topics. Sergey Tokarev emphasized that the prospects for the impact of artificial intelligence on society are closely related to the development of human potential and increasing labor efficiency. The businessman emphasized that in the long term, the power of human collaboration with artificial intelligence will surpass the potential of pure artificial intelligence. He noted that this technology is gradually taking over the solution of certain tasks, freeing people from routine and monotonous tasks, which ultimately helps to increase their efficiency.
During the forum, special attention was paid to the topic of female leadership in technology. Elizaveta Korenko, head of the educational project STEM is FEM, who actively encourages girls to choose technological professions, was present at the event in the Ukrainian pavilion. She shared her vision for combating gender inequality and how to inspire girls to become passionate about science and technology, sharing her unique experience creating educational projects for youth in wartime settings.
The Role of Ukraine on the Web Summit
Web Summit 2023 was a unique moment for Ukraine, which not only presented 25 innovative projects covering various fields but also attracted the attention of student developments, including a bionic prosthetic arm, a drone for exploring water bodies and reconnaissance drone technologies for combating electronic interference. One of the successful participants, startup S.Lab, specializing in environmental packaging, not only entered the top 10 pitching but also presented its project on the main stage of the summit. Irina Volnitskaya, President of SET University, emphasized that Ukraine can become an ideal platform for testing international technological projects, especially in the field of military technologies, thanks to the active participation of outstanding engineers, spurred by the war, in the development of innovative solutions.
Results of the Forum
Another stage of the summit was the auction, which featured 10 exclusive items, each with its own unique story. Sergey Tokarev particularly appreciated the lots with autographs of prominent personalities such as Valery Zaluzhny, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine. Thanks to the generosity of participants, the organizers managed to raise funds for two mobile bathhouses for the Ukrainian military. The cost of each of them was 20,000 euros.
Despite the two-year invasion, Ukrainian IT geniuses continue to demonstrate their great potential, presenting innovative technology projects that attract the attention of the world’s leading funds.
Sergey Tokarev noted that many well-known companies supported this initiative, including WNISEF, UNIT.City, GENESIS, Flyer One Ventures, the NOVA group and the Ukrainian-American Coordinating Council became partners of this event.