How Ukraine’s Leading Tech Companies Are Navigating War‑Time Challenges

Grammarly CEO Brad Hoover posted on LinkedIn that the company was founded in Ukraine and praised its resilient culture, expressing sorrow over the escalating situation and hoping for de‑escalation.

Readdle, based in Kyiv, is a leading seller of iOS and macOS productivity apps such as PDF Expert and Scanner Pro, with nearly 200 million downloads and over 150 employees in Ukraine. The company stores its infrastructure and customer data on servers in the United States and Europe, and its staff are distributed across 11 countries, allowing business continuity while ensuring safety for employees in Odesa.

MacPaw, also headquartered in Kyiv, develops Mac productivity tools like CleanMyMac and The Unarchiver. Its CEO Oleksandr Kosovan emphasized the company’s focus on employee safety, outlining assistance plans and an emergency protocol, and confirmed that customer data is hosted on AWS servers outside Ukraine.

Ajax Systems, a global home‑security hardware manufacturer, is based in Kyiv with R&D teams in Vinnytsia and Kharkiv, and is relocating staff from Kharkiv to Lviv.

Preply, founded in Kyiv in 2012, now has its headquarters in Massachusetts and offices in Barcelona and San Francisco while maintaining a Kyiv presence.

Ukrainian Talent

Ukraine is a major source of software development talent, with an estimated 200 000 developers according to a 2021 IT Ukraine association report. Many work through outsourcing firms like Elitex and SoftServe, while others freelance on platforms such as Fiverr, which also has an office in Kyiv.

Fast Company interviewed Fiverr COO Hila Klein, who explained that the company has been executing evacuation plans for weeks, relocating most staff to safe locations inside and outside Ukraine, and continuing to support those who remain.

Fast Company: What would you say to developers still in Ukraine?

Hila Klein emphasized that safety is the top priority, with urgent needs addressed first.

Can they stay online?

The company is providing alternative communication methods to mitigate internet disruptions.

Will they keep working?

Most staff have relocated, allowing work to continue; the primary concern remains ensuring they are safe and can care for their families.

Are they scared?

Everyone in the region feels fear and anxiety.

Several large U.S. tech firms, such as Microsoft and Salesforce’s Slack, have outsourced major projects to Ukrainian contractors, and other companies maintain offices in the country to access talent, including Israeli game studio Plarium in Kharkiv. Many have contingency plans to help employees evacuate if the situation worsens.