In Ukraine, a list of the most active funds investing in Ukrainian startups has been compiled. Some of the most active ones were launched after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.
The list, compiled by Forbes Ukraine, is led by the fund u.ventures. In the first half of the year, the u.ventures portfolio expanded with eight Ukrainian startups. The average investment by the fund was $500,000— the same amount it invested in the first two years of the full-scale war.
‘Since July 2023, the top five most active venture players in Ukraine have completely changed. Three of them—ZAS Ventures, Angel One, and the angel club United Angels Network (UAN)—were launched during the full-scale Russian invasion,’ notes Forbes.
The top ten funds are as follows:
- u.ventures — 8 Ukrainian startups in the portfolio.
- ZAS Ventures — 7 Ukrainian startups.
- Angel One — 6 Ukrainian startups.
- United Angels Network — 5 Ukrainian startups in the portfolio.
- ICLUB — 3 Ukrainian startups in the portfolio.
- TA Ventures — 3 Ukrainian startups in the portfolio.
- Inovo VC — 3 Ukrainian startups in the portfolio.
- SID VP — 2 Ukrainian startups in the portfolio.
- Vesna Capital 3 — 2 Ukrainian startups in the portfolio.
- SMRK — 2 Ukrainian startups in the portfolio.
On average, most participants in the study plan to close 5–10 deals by the end of the year.
‘As worldwide, AI startups are currently attracting the most attention from venture funds in the Ukrainian venture capital market,’ says Bogdan Svyrydov, Investment Director at Horizon Capital and u.ventures.
According to Vadym Rohovskyi, partner at GEEK Ventures, the market fell significantly in 2023 and is expected to decline further in 2024.
"New funds, if they appear, will need to adjust their trajectory, expand their geographical focus, invest more broadly, or at later stages," he says.
