Led · Equity · Apr 2019

Banuba builds a platform that lets application developers embed augmented reality capabilities into their products. The platform supports filters and emojis, face recognition, and motion tracking. Its tools are designed for easy integration into third-party apps. The article reports that Banuba attracted $12 million from the funds VP Capital and Larnabel Enterprises. Banuba was presented among other IT companies at an exhibition reviewed by Alexander Lukashenko. No operating metrics or additional financial details were reported in the article. Banuba develops a mobile SDK and consumer apps that give apps and hardware the ability to “see” users via 3D face tracking, facial analysis, skin smoothing, background subtraction and Avatar AR. The company’s Banuba 3.0 mobile SDK is available for iOS and Android and is positioned as a developer tool for both high- and low-end smartphones. Banuba’s technology can detect micro‑eye movements with subpixel accuracy, estimate age and gender, perform spectral analysis to monitor heart rate, and enable gaze-based interactions used in apps like Facemetrix. The company has an R&D center in Minsk staffed by about 50 people and has filed 25 U.S. patent applications, six of which were processed unusually quickly. Banuba has been testing concepts through consumer apps while shifting focus toward licensing its SDK to brands, app makers and device makers. Banuba develops technologies for augmented reality-enabled mobile applications, with core systems built on machine learning and neural networks. Its algorithms detect and identify objects, facial expressions, and gestures in real time and modify or augment those features using filters and video effects. The platform is positioned for entertainment mobile applications, educational programs, and emotion tracking. The company employs over 30 AI/AR engineers and maintains a development subsidiary in Belarus. Banuba has a number of pending US patents and plans to launch its first mobile app in the first quarter of 2017. It raised $5m in funding to further develop its technologies.

Participated · Series A · Jan 2019

Currency.com is a Minsk-based startup affiliated with trading platform Capital.com that has launched a platform for tokenised securities. The platform allows investors to trade, invest in, and gain exposure to real-world financial instruments directly using cryptocurrencies. Currency.com plans to issue more than 10,000 tokenised securities that will track and mirror the performance of common financial instruments, enabling tokens tied to assets such as Apple shares. The service is currently available as a web app and the company plans to begin beta testing mobile applications in February. Currency.com has raised $8 million in funding from Larnabel Ventures and VP Capital. The company is based in Minsk's High Technology Park and is the first blockchain business licensed there; HTP residents receive most Belarusian tax exemptions until 2049.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2018

FaceMetrics is a parental control startup led by CEO Mikhail Boyko that launched a parental control app. The app leverages AI and proprietary computer vision to report kids’ activity on smartphones and electronic devices to parents. It gamifies screen-time control, allowing parents to limit gaming time and exchange that time for reading or study. The platform combines scheduling, location-tracking, social activity monitoring and call-tracking in one user-friendly app and adds camera-based tracking to measure parameters such as distance between the screen and the face and engagement. The app is available in Russian and English and was slated to launch that summer. FaceMetrics raised $2M in funding and plans to offer the app free in Belarus and by subscription in other countries.

Led · Equity · Jul 2017

Capital.com launched a mobile trading app that lets investors trade financial products and receive updates via a patent-pending Smart Feed delivering news, analysis and research based on user behaviour. The company says the app uses AI to detect common trading biases and patterns and to subscribe users to bespoke educational channels. Capital.com also released Investmate, an app aimed at new and amateur traders to learn how to trade. The startup raised $25 million from Larnabel Enterprises and VP Capital. Company leadership, including CEO Kira Bondareva, emphasizes using advanced AI to analyse trader behaviour in real time and provide instructions to avoid biases. Capital.com is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and is based in Limassol.