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U.K.-based limited partnersVenrexandSamos Investmentsare this calendar week backing the launch of a new VC principally purport at adorn in startups led by Ukrainians inwardly and outside the war - torn body politic . The L-P are better have intercourse for being early institutional investor in the successful early stage startup monetary fund Seedcamp and Entrepreneur First .
1991 Venturesis the inspiration of Ukrainian brother Denis and Viktor Gursky , who are better recognise for running brooding and accelerator programs inside Ukraine .
The U.K.-based VC is launching with a £ 15 million ( $ 18.8 million ) monetary fund to invest in both Ukrainian and Central Eastern European ( CEE ) startup talent .
Although some might say investing in Ukrainian startups is crazy when the country is in the battle of its spirit against a brutal invasion by Russia , as we covered recently , two year after the invasion , Ukrainian - contain startups are still faring well .
The Gursky brothers antecedently endorse more than 200 startup between 2016 and 2024 , via their incubator Social Boost and their1991 Accelerator .
Many of those were out of their hometown of Mariupol , made celebrated after itsheroic battleagainst Russia and from where its team managed to relocate to condom . startup backed to date admit legal technical school startup AXDRAFT , European bell payment app eTolls and cybersecurity company Osavul .
Over an interview Denis Gursky , founding partner of 1991 Ventures , tell me : “ There is a wealth of untapped natural endowment in Ukraine and cardinal and Eastern Europe … My chum , Viktor , and I want to make a pipeline of high - timbre dealflow to that . ”
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He pronounce the LP backer of the investment trust , “ are very concerned to knock into Eastern European and Ukrainian specifically . ”
Gursky also said : “ It ’s very hard for Ukrainian founders to rap into London . So we would like to bring home the bacon them with pre - seed or seeded player funding so that they can … get at bombastic round in the future tense and understand how the U.K. can be a springboard to globose financial backing . ”
But 1991 Venture wo n’t be the only Ukrainian - born stock vying for the attending of their brethren founders .
There is also Ukrainian VC fundRoosh Ventures , which has antecedently backed Reface AI , a face swap app with 250 million - plus downloads , and Deel , a paysheet root that enables companies to pay multitude in 150 + countries .
Additionally , SID Venture Partnerswas found by the co - founders of outsourcing company Sigma Software and IdeaSoft and the Datrics Cartesian product .
SMRK — launch in 2013 by Oleksandr Kosovan , beginner of MacPaw , and Andrii Dovzhenko — has invest in Osavul , Deus Robotics , Aspichi and Prengi .
Then there isFlyer One Ventures , which has plump for Vochi , Allset and PromoRepublic , among others .
Finally , TA Venturesis perhaps the intimately known and most alive Ukrainian VC internationally , headed up by the almost - ubiquitousViktoriya Tigipko .
It has endow in more than 200 startups , include 15 Ukrainian ace , and made 42 exits , grant to Crunchbase .
Many of the technical school companies Ukraine will produce in the forthcoming yr are potential to be either “ dual - use ” or related to defense . For illustration , almost 200 company grow drones in Ukraine last year , up from seven in 2022 .
