With Ukraine under Russian attack, people from all backgrounds are being called to take up arms. An unexpected army in the fight is the country’s many tech workers, battling on the front lines and with keyboards. Here are five prominent technology firms that originated from Ukraine in this week’s Five For Friday.
#5: MacPaw
Mac users might recognize this software company’s very popular CleanMyMac app, but the firm is also on the front lines raising money. Founder and CEO Oleksandr Kosovan recently posted a heartbreaking video from Kyiv pleading for donations to his newly-created MacPaw Development Fund, which he said will help deliver food and medicine locally to those most in need.
#4: GitLab
With no physical headquarters or offices anywhere in the world, GitLab’s heart is in Ukraine. Co-founder Dmitriy Zaporozhets started the popular open source tool from his house in Kharkiv, the site of a reported killing of a top Russian general. NASA, AT&T and IBM are some of its high profile users.
#3: Petcube
As the Ukrainian people fight for their lives, this Ukrainian firm is also focused on protecting war-affected pets. Petcube designs and engineers WiFi cameras that enable owners to remotely interact with their pets from an app. Speaking from a bomb-shelter, co-founder and dog-lover Andrey Klen told Newsweek that some employees are taking up arms, while others “are fighting the informational war—the so-called keyboard resistance—while trying to relocate to safer cities in the West.”
#2: Looksery
If you’ve ever played around with Snapchat’s facial modification and augmented reality features, then you’ve used Looksery technology. Founded in Ukraine in 2013 and purchased two years later by Snap, Inc. for $150 Million, the firm is still home to more than 300 of the world’s most talented coders and engineers.
#1: Grammarly
Crowned one of Inc. Magazine’s 2021 best workplaces, it could now be one of the most dangerous if you’re one of the workers in Kyiv. Founded by three Ukrainians, the software firm is probably best known for its large ad buys dominating streaming spaces. The firm will donate to the Ukrainian people all the money made in Russia since 2014, the year Vladimir Putin decided to invade the Crimean Peninsula.
