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The Venture Codex

u.ventures

175 W. Jackson Blvd, Suite 1640, Chicago, IL, 60606, United States

Overview

u.ventures invests in early stage technology startups and local entrepreneurs who dare to build exciting global ventures.

Total investments
16
Lead investments
5
Investments · 12mo
3
Active investors
2
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Investment portfolio

  • Embedd

    Participated · Seed · Aug 2026

    Embedd develops a platform that turns chip documentation into digital twins of hardware to accelerate software integration across devices such as robots, vehicles, drones and medical devices. The company says its platform reduces firmware and integration timelines from months to roughly three weeks and can deliver production-ready software for a given chip up to six times faster than manual processes. Embedd launched commercially in April 2026 and has already signed semiconductor customers, including Microchip Technology, to enable support for ecosystems like the Zephyr real-time operating system. The startup was founded by Ukrainian entrepreneurs Michael Lazarenko, Maxim Gorinov, and Valentin Gololobov, who previously ran a hardware company together. With the $2.7 million pre-seed funding led by Seedcamp, Embedd plans to expand its platform and deepen partnerships with semiconductor companies as it pursues broader adoption in robotics, automotive, manufacturing and medical device markets.

  • Cargofy

    Led · Series A · Jun 2026

    Cargofy develops AI agents—described as digital workers—that replicate freight professionals' workflows and operate 24/7 across multiple languages and markets. The company spent several years embedded in freight operations collecting proprietary data and pivoted in 2023 to train its agents on that dataset. Its platform integrates with more than 70 logistics tools, including transportation management systems, ERPs, load boards, compliance systems, and communication channels. Cargofy's agents handle carrier communication, document processing, dispatch coordination, and follow-up activities without requiring customers to change existing processes. The company says the technology increases operational efficiency, enabling individual dispatchers to manage larger fleets and improving revenue per employee. Cargofy plans to expand internationally and extend automation from customer-facing tasks into back-office functions such as billing, compliance, and carrier coordination.

  • Fagura

    Participated · Convertible Note · Mar 2026

    Fagura operates a fully digital marketplace that matches retail investors with loans requested by small businesses, entrepreneurs, and freelancers, providing what it calls a reinvented “3Fs” model—Friends, Family and Fagura. The platform currently serves customers in the European Union and the Republic of Moldova and is positioning itself to enter additional European markets. Beyond facilitating lending, the company is building AI-powered tools designed to improve financial decision-making for both investors and borrowers. The fresh capital will be used to enhance these technological capabilities, refine user experience, and accelerate geographic expansion. Over the past year Fagura has secured €1.5 million in a convertible round and is targeting a further €1.5 million to bring the total to €3 million when the round converts to equity later this year. Investors view Fagura’s model as a way to unlock smart capital for underserved SMEs, underscoring the company’s ambition to become a leading alternative financing platform in Europe.

  • Liki24

    Participated · Series A · Jul 2025

    Founded in 2017, Liki24 connects consumers with thousands of pharmacies, letting users choose one-hour local delivery, next-day domestic delivery, or lower-cost cross-border shipping for medicines, supplements, OTC drugs, and medical cosmetics. The platform relies heavily on AI for product matching, routing split-leg logistics, multilingual customer support, and personalized recommendations. Liki24 now operates in Ukraine, 10 additional EU countries, and the UK, with 70 % of its revenue coming from the EU while Ukrainian revenue has still doubled since the 2022 invasion. Key operating improvements include a sevenfold reduction in cross-border delivery times and a fivefold cut in costs, while support headcount dropped from 80 to about 40 thanks to AI. The company is extending its ecosystem with a lab-test marketplace and a preventive health coaching service that will integrate diagnostics, coaching, doctor access, and product delivery. To date it has raised €19 million in equity financing to fund this expansion. Management positions the €400 billion fragmented European pharmacy market as its primary growth opportunity.

  • PeopleForce

    Led · Series A · Apr 2025

    PeopleForce offers an all-in-one HR SaaS platform that centralizes employee data and provides tools for recruitment, performance reviews, time tracking, leave management, onboarding, surveys, workflows and internal communications. The product emphasizes automation and AI-driven HR analytics to improve HR efficiency and manager workflows. The company plans to use new funding to scale go-to-market teams in Poland and Latin America, enhance its AI analytics, localize features for regional compliance, and support enterprise onboarding and service. PeopleForce was founded in 2019 and is based in Warsaw, Poland. It is used by over 1,300 companies across 30+ countries, with more than 100,000 active users, and counts customers such as Brand24, Paysera, and Ajax Systems. The business recently completed a pre-Series A raise, which will support its expansion and product investment plans. PeopleForce is an all-in-one HR platform designed to provide an enhanced employee experience and streamline HR processes across the employee life cycle. Founded in 2019 by Andrew Cetinic and based in Kyiv, Ukraine, the company serves over 800 clients across 25 countries and has more than 80,000 active users on its platform. Its customer list includes Rakuten, BMW, Deloitte, Ajax Systems, Reply.io, YouScan and a range of Polish and LATAM companies. PeopleForce raised $2M in a seed round and intends to use the funds to accelerate product development. The company also plans to pursue market penetration in Poland and LATAM. These metrics and plans suggest a focus on expanding product capability and regional growth.

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