Kyiv remains the center, but not the whole picture
Kyiv continues to lead Ukraine's IT geography, with 188 companies listed in the LiveBusiness catalog. The capital concentrates clients, headquarters, investors, universities and a large pool of technical talent, so its first place is not surprising.
Still, the ranking shows a broader picture. The top five cities together account for 449 companies in the catalog: Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Odesa and Dnipro. Because the catalog is not a full official register, the figures should be read as a market signal rather than a final census, but the regional pattern is still important.
Why regional hubs matter
Mykolaiv ranks second with 77 companies, ahead of Kharkiv with 68, Odesa with 62 and Dnipro with 54. The presence of Mykolaiv is notable because companies there can benefit from lower competition for talent and a more flexible operating environment. Kharkiv remains strong thanks to technical universities and engineering culture despite security risks.
Odesa brings entrepreneurship, logistics and maritime experience, while Dnipro combines industrial, engineering and aerospace traditions. Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia and Poltava also remain visible on the technology map. This distribution matters because the Ukrainian IT sector is becoming less dependent on a single urban center.
Investor reading of the IT geography
For investors and clients, regional IT hubs can offer a useful mix of cost, skills and specialization. Kyiv is still the main entry point for many deals, but companies looking for engineering depth, product teams or outsourced development should not ignore second-line cities.
The war has changed operating conditions, but it has not erased the sector's ability to adapt. Remote work, distributed teams and regional specialization allow Ukrainian technology companies to keep serving clients while building resilience. The next stage will depend on security, education, access to capital and the ability of cities to keep talented people.
