A new venture capital fund, Vatra Group, has launched in Ukraine with a target fund size of up to $50 million. Its founders are Jim Curry, co-founder of the OpenStack cloud infrastructure platform and investment firm BuildGroup, and Dariia Vyshnevska, who previously worked at Google and Grammarly. The fund plans to invest in technology companies, focusing on artificial intelligence startups and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers.
Vatra Group will focus on early-stage companies at the Seed and Series A stages. The fund plans to invest between $250,000 and $500,000 per company at the Seed stage, while Series A investments will range from $3 million to $5 million. During its first year of investment activity, the team expects to back five to seven startups.
The founders have already begun fundraising. According to Jim Curry, potential investors include individuals with ties to Ukraine as well as international investors interested in the Ukrainian market. The fund's target size is up to $50 million; however, this represents its fundraising goal rather than capital already raised or investments already made.
Vatra Group intends to support companies with international growth potential, helping them expand sales and enter foreign markets. The fund will evaluate startups based on their growth rates and demonstrated market demand for their products. Its investment priorities include AI and SaaS solutions operating under B2B and B2B2C business models.
The founders expect to begin investing in 2027. They plan to raise capital over the first five years, with the fund structured for a ten-year lifespan. Up to 20% of the fund's capital is expected to be reserved for follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies.
The launch of Vatra Group expands venture financing opportunities for technology startups in Ukraine. One of the fund's objectives is to help Ukrainian entrepreneurs attract investment and develop internationally competitive products without relocating their businesses abroad.
