Participated · Series A · Sep 2021

Coinfirm provides a risk management platform for crypto assets that risk-scores entities, addresses and transactions to protect fintechs from ransomware, human trafficking, sanctions evasion and terrorist financing. The platform supports 1,500+ protocols and uses 330+ proprietary risk algorithms to meet stringent AML and regulatory requirements across CeFi and DeFi. Its customers include governments, financial institutions, custodians, payment providers, investment funds and exchanges. Led by newly appointed CEO Dr. Mircea Mihaescu, the company positions itself to power mass adoption of blockchain by enterprise and financial institution clients as well as crypto market participants. Coinfirm plans to use the financing to continue growth in the EU, expand its offering into Asian and US markets, and strengthen its enterprise and financial-institution product set. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in London, retaining offices in Warsaw, Torun and Tokyo. Coinfirm provides a blockchain anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) risk and compliance platform designed to increase transparency and security of blockchain transactions. The platform addresses AML/CTF, sanctions screening, and counterparty risk-management challenges across cryptocurrency, banking and business intelligence use cases. Led by co-founder and CEO Pawel Kuskowski, Coinfirm develops services and features to support those compliance needs. The company raised $700K in a funding round led by Luma Ventures and has opened the round to additional investors. Coinfirm intends to use the capital to expand and further build services and features onto its platform.

Participated · Equity · Sep 2021

YouTravel.Me matches travelers to curated small-group adventures using algorithms that pair users based on interests, values and past experiences. Matched travelers can chat or use voice, work with a travel expert and complete reservations; the company also offers a BeGuide product for travel experts to research and create itineraries. Since 2018 it has listed over 15,900 tours in 130 countries and attracted more than 10,000 travelers and 4,200 travel experts, becoming a top travel marketplace in Eastern Europe. Founded in Europe three years ago by Olga Bortnikova, Ivan Bortnikov and Ivan Mikheev, the company joined 500 Startups at the end of 2020 and doubled its revenue while still bootstrapped. After the pandemic hit international sales in 2020, the team built a community and educational product for travel experts and pivoted to focus on adventure travel as the market recovered. Planned growth includes U.S. expansion, hiring and attracting more travel experts, further product and technology development, and increasing gross merchandise value to $2.7 million per month by the end of 2021.

Participated · Seed · Oct 2019

oollee provides an app-connected home water purifier that uses reverse osmosis and a four-stage filtration process, reintroducing essential minerals in the final stage. The device connects to Wi‑Fi so customers can monitor water condition, volume, temperature and receive filter-replacement reminders via the app. The subscription includes maintenance and cartridge replacements, and the service is priced at $29 per month. CEO and co-founder Umit Khiarollaev says users can order new filters with a single click from the app. The startup positions itself against bottled-water suppliers, smart-filter manufacturers, delivery services such as Nestlé and Alhambra, and technology players like Xiaomi. Financially, oollee has raised early capital to support rollout and subscription operations.