Ukrainian GovTech startup Obriy AI will receive up to $100,000 to pilot its AI-powered legal aid solution as part of the GovTech Lab Ukraine open innovation program. Two European startups — Itera and citytax — have also been selected for funded pilots.

About the program

• GovTech Lab Ukraine is an open innovation initiative designed to connect government agencies with startups to co-develop and test digital public-sector solutions before scaling them nationwide.
• The program is implemented by the Global Government Technology Centre (GGTC) Kyiv with support from Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation and the World Economic Forum. It is backed by the Swiss-Ukrainian EGAP program, implemented by the Eastern Europe Foundation.
• This year’s GovTech Lab focuses on three public-sector challenges: legal aid, urban planning, and tourism management. During the preliminary phase, seven startups worked alongside government teams to refine user needs, test hypotheses, and develop pilot concepts, which were presented at Demo Day.
• One winner was selected in each category. Each selected team will now move into the implementation phase and receive up to $100,000 to launch a pilot project.

About Obriy AI

• Obriy AI develops enterprise-grade AI solutions. As part of the program, the company will pilot its SURE platform, designed to automate the processing of citizens’ legal aid requests. The system analyzes incoming requests, works with structured knowledge bases, and assists operators in delivering consultations while complying with security and data protection requirements. The goal is to reduce processing time, ease the workload on legal aid specialists, and improve service stability.
• Obriy AI was selected in the «Automated Legal Aid» category, with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine serving as the government partner.
• The broader objective is to expand citizens’ access to basic legal aid and reduce pressure on Ukraine’s free legal aid system.

Other winning startups

• Lithuanian GovTech startup citytax UAB will pilot a digital platform for managing tourism data and administering local tourist taxes.
• The solution enables structured data collection, unified identifiers, and tools for detecting unregistered accommodation facilities. The goal is to increase market transparency, improve regulatory compliance, and generate higher-quality data for public decision-making. The platform complies with European regulatory requirements and is built for integration with government systems and future scaling.
• citytax was selected in the «Transparent Data-Driven Tourism Management System» category, with the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine as the government partner. The challenge aims to improve how tourism data is collected, analyzed, and used in policymaking.

• Norwegian technology company Itera, which operates a team in Ukraine, presented an AI solution that automates the collection, structuring, and verification of complex construction documentation. The system enables automated regulatory compliance checks and supports a transparent, traceable decision-making process for building permits.
• Itera was selected in the «Transparent and Effective Solutions in Urban Planning» category, in partnership with the State Inspectorate of Architecture and Urban Planning of Ukraine. The challenge seeks to increase transparency and efficiency in urban planning processes, particularly in document and data management.

What’s next?

• The program now moves into its 12-week implementation phase. Startup teams will work directly with government partners to deploy their pilot solutions in real-world conditions.
• The pilots will evaluate effectiveness, functionality, and scalability, enabling government agencies to make informed decisions about broader rollout.
• Individual challenges are supported by Mastercard (tourism data management) and the Eastern Europe Foundation (automated legal aid). Infrastructure resources for all three tracks are provided by De Novo.
• The Global Government Technology Centre in Kyiv is the second GovTech center in the world after Berlin and the 21st Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) in the World Economic Forum’s global network.