Ukrainian investment fund, U.Ventures, invests 1,5 million USD in three Ukrainian startups: YouTeam, 3DLook and Pufetto, local media reported. The fund, reportedly, is convinced these three startups to become leaders in their segments not only in Ukraine but worldwide as well. How much money each startup received remains undisclosed.
“Ukraine has prominent product companies and startups that make revolutionary products and are highly competitive on a global market, and YouTeam, 3DLook, and Pufetto are dazzling examples of this”, says Jaroslawa Z. Johnson, the President and CEO of the fund, 150sec.com reported. “ We are very pleased to invest in these startups and are convinced that they have a great potential to become leaders in its segments not only in Ukraine but worldwide.”
U.Ventures is an investment fund launched in 2017 by the Western NIS Enterprise Fund(WNISEF) to invest in early-stage technology startups with world-class teams and global potential for growth in Ukraine and Moldova. WNISEF on the other hand, is a regional private equity fund, a pioneer in Ukraine and Moldova with more than two decades of successful experience investing in small and medium-sized companies. WNISEF was funded by the U.S. government via U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The fund successfully invested in more than 118 companies in Ukraine and Moldova.
A closer look at the new startups the joins U. Ventures family
YouTeam is the world’s first free b2b marketplace for engineering talent, a marketplace for hiring remote software development contractors. The startup “bridges” tech people from Eastern Europe with the rest of the world. YouTeam is founded in 2014 by Ukrainians Anton Mishchenko and Yurij Riphyak. According to some Ukrainian websites, world-known companies such as Marvel, Amazon, Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz and Nokia are just a few of the many that use YouTeam’s services. Besides in Ukraine, so far, the company has its offices in Estonia, Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic and Macedonia.
3DLOOK is an innovative solution for apparel retail and e-commerce that uses proprietary body measuring technology to make a perfect size and fit recommendations to consumers. The startup is founded in 2016 by Vadym Rohovsky, a serial entrepreneur from Odesa. The main goal of this startup is to transform the way people interact with their smartphones to solve everyday problems. To reach that goal the company use computer vision, advanced machine learning, and complex 3D matching algorithms to scan and measure the human body.
Founded in 2012 Pufetto is a Ukrainian furniture manufacturer and e-commerce player that enables customers to customize its furniture (sofas, armchairs, beds) through its online platform and have it delivered to door within three of four weeks. So far, Pufetto sells furniture mostly through their online platform, but as well as via their showrooms in Ukraine and Germany.
Reportedly, these three startups will use the money to improve their products, to hire new people and to expand to new markets worldwide.
Prior to these investments, U.Ventures invested over 2.3 million USD into six other Ukrainian companies.