Tag: Press release

By becoming a member of the NVCA, alongside industry leaders like Andreessen Horowitz, 500 Global, Techstars, and Sequoia Capital, Vibranium.VC aims to contribute to shaping the venture capital ecosystem both in the US and globally.

The NVCA is a prominent trade organization representing the US venture capital industry and championing policies that encourage innovation and investment. Beyond policy advocacy, the NVCA provides its members with valuable resources, including industry data, best practices, and networking opportunities, all aimed at fostering success within the venture capital landscape.

The NVCA actively advocates for the venture capital industry at all government levels, from federal to local. As a member, Vibranium.VC gains a collective voice in shaping industry-influencing policies and regulations, fostering a more favorable environment for venture capital investment and entrepreneurship. Vibranium.VC commits to upholding the highest operational standards in alignment with these guidelines.

In addition, members gain access to valuable insights, market trends, and data that can inform investment strategies and decision-making processes. 

We are looking to become active members of the NVCA community and contribute to entrepreneurial ecosystem development.

Vibranium.VC, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, is thrilled to announce a Softlanding program tailored for IT startups in the B2B and B2C SaaS sectors. Designed for entrepreneurs seeking to relocate their businesses to the United States, this program presents an opportunity for startups to unleash their potential and grow in Silicon Valley.

Starting in September 2023, the Vibranium.VC Softlanding program spans over two months, offering efficient and streamlined content for selected startups. The initiative is entirely cost-free. However, founders are encouraged to invest their time and dedication into the program, which promises valuable insights and support throughout the relocation journey.

What to Expect from the Softlanding Program:

• Expert Guidance: With Vibranium.VC’s network of seasoned experts and industry veterans, participants will receive personalized guidance on the entire relocation process to the US. From overcoming logistical challenges to navigating legal and regulatory requirements, every aspect is supervised.
• Fundraising Strategies: Understanding the significance of funding for startups’ growth, the program will equip founders with proper fundraising strategies tailored to the competitive landscape of Silicon Valley.
• Exclusive Access to Silicon Valley Ecosystem Players: Softlanding program alums will get an opportunity to expand their network by adding key innovation ecosystem players to their contacts to ensure the best possible chances of entering Silicon Valley.

Zamir Shukho, Founder and General Partner at Vibranium.VC: “The launch of Softlanding Program 2.0 marks a significant step in Vibranium.VC‘s efforts to help SaaS startups enter the US market. We analyzed the feedback provided by the first batch. We customized this year’s program specifically to founders’ needs and expectations by inviting top experts and adapting content based on startups’ requirements regarding the relocation process. This program will help founders answer all the essential questions about relocating their startup and save time and resources. It is the right time to make a move.

Don’t miss an opportunity to take your startup to a new level. Apply now for the Vibranium.VC Softlanding Program. Applications are open until September 24.

In July, Vibranium.VC added a new company to its portfolio by investing in the Intelligent Automation platform HuLoop Automation. For HuLoop, it’s the fifth recent VC investment as the company aims to attract $4M in total in the Seed round.

HuLoop’s solution generates and manages a digital workforce to automate tasks and processes, freeing up human capacity for more valuable, cognitive work. HuLoop delivers huge client benefits – every $1 invested results in $20 ROI.

Zamir Shukho, Founder and General Partner at Vibranium.VC: “HuLoop Automation became the first portfolio company focusing on business productivity as we identify this direction as one of the key ones for our fund. We are happy to welcome HuLoop Automation on board and hope that the company will grow and succeed with our support. ”  

Prior to Vibranium.VC the company secured investments from Growth Factory, Rebellion Ventures, Nurture Ventures, and Team Ignite Ventures. This round of investments will be allocated 50/50 –  to innovation and go-to-market accordingly.

“We are thrilled to announce Vibranium Venture Capital’s investment in our company. With their invaluable support, we’re poised to redefine the future of work and revolutionize key industries worldwide,” said Todd P. Michaud, CEO of HuLoop Automation.

Among the key clients of HuLoop Automation are companies from industries such as Consumer commerce (retail, wholesale, hospitality, CPG), Financial services (banks, credit unions, collections agencies), and Software developers (product companies and enterprises).

In April 2023, Vibranium.VC sealed a deal with Spike Ventures, a fund for Stanford alumni and friends of the community, by becoming an investor.

Spike Ventures is part of Alumni Ventures, which has raised over $1 billion from individual accredited investors from more than 20 university communities across the U.S. In 2022, Alumni Ventures was ranked as the #1 most active venture firm in the U.S., and #3 most active in the world, according to Pitchbook. Spike Ventures empowers startup founders by providing capital and access to a network of 600K+ community members from Stanford and other universities.

“We are very pleased to welcome Vibranium as an investor,” said Todd McIntyre, Managing Partner of Spike Ventures. “We look forward to working with them to help exciting new startups build a solid foundation, accelerate their growth, and reach their full market potential.”

Zamir Shukho, CEO & Founder of Vibranium.VC: “By collaborating with Spike Ventures, Vibranium.VC is poised to strengthen its position as one of the most founder-friendly and value-add investors in the B2B SaaS early-stage startup ecosystem and drive growth for its portfolio companies”.

Spike Ventures has a strong track record of investing in early-stage startups. Its portfolio includes successful companies such as Jeeves, Coda, and Lacework, and its investment team has deep industry knowledge and experience in identifying and nurturing high-potential startups.

By becoming an investor in Spike Ventures, Vibranium.VC aims to expand its investment opportunities and diversify of its portfolio through exposure to Spike’s investment strategies and Stanford alumni network. As an investor, Vibranium.VC will have access to a wide variety of B2B SaaS deals.

By becoming an LP of the Fund, Vibranium.VC gains access to an index of the most promising B2B SaaS startups and builds an early relationship with potential Vibranium portfolio companies.

The Best of Stonks Fund is a first-of-its-kind, no fee, no carry vehicle created and managed by the Stonks team to allow investors to receive diversified exposure to the best startups that pitch on Stonks’ platform. The fund makes fundraising for both parties—startups and investors—easy, frictionless, and more transparent.

Stonks allows accredited retail investors to invest alongside the 0.1% of VCs, angels, and accelerators. Via such products as Demo Day Vehicles and Stonks Secondaries, the company is building the simplest, fastest onramp to startup investing.

Andreessen Horowitz, 500 Global, AirAngels, Hustle Fund, Mercury Bank, Atomic VC, Matrix Partners, Naval Ravikant (Angellist), Henry Ward (Carta), Mike Maples (Floodgate), and many more are both investors in and users of the platform. To date, more than $120M has been wired from funders to founders on Stonks.

Vibranium.VC is always seeking new opportunities to expand its network of founders, investors, and innovators in Silicon Valley and beyond.

Vibranium.VC invested in PicUP in the seed round. This startup is an AI-powered optimization and personalization platform for outbound sales and customer service calls. PicUP became the sixth company in the Vibranium.VC portfolio alongside other promising B2B SaaS solutions.

PicUP is an Israeli-based startup that partnered with Skywell Capital Partners and Vibranium.VC in this round. Its technology adds personalized digital layers to outbound calls, which enables organizations to inform their customers about who calls them and why. The solution also empowers the voice channel with digital features to improve communication with the customer over the phone. PicUp’s mission is to transform phone communication, and especially business-to-consumer service and sales calls, to become more transparent and respectful for customers, and more efficient for organizations.

The investment will allow PicUP to develop a new platform and acquire more tier-1 customers – all part of the journey to transform cold-calling into personalized digital calls and create the future of business-to-customer communications.

PicUP will allocate investments toward R&D and further platform development, with emphasis on expanding its usage of new digital channels like WhatsApp API and RCS messaging. It will also seek to foster go-to-market and growth, signing more deals with leading telcos, banks, and insurers in Europe and the US.

Lior Shacham, CEO, PicUP: “We are excited to partner with Vibranium.VC to keep developing our platform and bring this top-tier calling experience to more leading brands in Europe and the US. Vibranium.VC’s expertise and knowledge makes it the ideal partner to help us grow, expand our presence, and establish new partnerships.”
PicUP’s top clients include Vodafone (Italy & Portugal), Claro (Latam) and other tier-1 EU telecom brands, along with clients from banking and insurance industries.

Zamir Shukho, CEO,
Vibranium.VC: “We think that PicUP has a unique approach to enhance the operation of call centers and service providers. Their technology can enable deeper interaction with a client and create the next level of experience for businesses and consumers. We see PicUP as a team of professionals with growth ambitions and we are happy they joined our portfolio to explore new markets and opportunities.”
Earlier this year PicUp was also pitching at SUMMERSAAS 2022, an online conference for SaaS companies from Emerging Europe, Finland & Israel, organized by Flashpoint Venture Capital where caught an eye of Vibranium.VC.
We are happy to welcome PicUP on board and confident that Vibranium.VC’s experience, expertise and network will contribute to the startup’s growth and business scaling worldwide.

The Vibranium.VC fund is always looking for the next big thing – not only when it comes to revenue, but also in terms of market disruption and positive societal impact. With that in mind, Vibranium.VC is excited to put the spotlight on its next portfolio company – iSchoolConnect.

iSchoolConnect is an online admissions platform that makes the admissions process globally accessible and hassle-free for international students. Its B2B platform – iSchool360 – is designed to support academic institutions at every step of the way and enable them to make better admissions and engagement decisions while saving time and money.

iSchoolConnect partnered with Vibranium.VC and Decart Ventures, the latter also investing $500K in this round. The startup’s primary focus is on expanding its B2B SaaS vertical, which is a gamechanger for multiple stakeholders in the enrollment industry. iSchoolConnect will deploy funds to acquire the right talent and to improve visibility among its audience, including large and reputable universities and online education platforms.

Ashish Fernando, Founder & CEO iSchoolConnect: “We believe that Vibranium.VC ethos and investment philosophy was a great fit for iSchoolConnect. Since Vibranium.VC is largely focused on IT B2B SaaS businesses, we were excited about gaining access to a wealth of strategic and operational insights that will potentially help us accelerate growth. Our well-designed product is easy to adopt and integrate and provides our customers with reliable analytics to boost decision making. We hope to become the Booking.com for Education.”

The startup is already active and expanding in India, the US and Thailand, with plans to venture into other Asian markets. Western Governors University, Kaplan, MozaikPlay are among iSchoolConnect’s top clients. It was also one of the finalists for the PIEoneer Awards 2022 in the Higher Ed Digital Innovation of the Year category.

Zamir Shukho, CEO Vibranium.VC: “The field of education is still very conservative and needs a lot of changes to adapt to a new world, especially after COVID-19. iSchoolConnect helps to make universities more technological and digital by assisting students around the world get into the best schools. On top of that the startup provides several layers of additional services that allow more students to graduate and find good jobs based on their level of education. We like iSchoolConnect’s diverse team with a global vision, and we hope to contribute to their fast growth in the US market.”

The Vibranium.VC team is happy to welcome iSchoolConnect to its portfolio!

Vibranium.VC’s Softlanding program is a free of charge practical online program for talented, active, and ambitious entrepreneurs ready to relocate their business to the US and enter a fast-growing market.

The Softlanding program is designed for B2B SaaS startups wanting to move to the US and ready to work with top Silicon Valley experts. Twenty-five startups that meet the evaluation criteria will receive support in achieving product-market fit and fundraising in the US.

The program for selected startups will last for about 3 months with two key stages – Bootcamp (5 days) and Pre-Accelerator (3 months).

US experts from different fields will navigate startup teams through all the procedures and processes for opening a company abroad, give tips on getting into local accelerators, and provide support in the implementation of a step-by-step plan for relocation to the US.

Zamir Shukho, CEO Vinranium.VC: “The launch of our Softlanding program marks an important milestone for Vibranium.VC , where we act not only as a Venture Fund but as an active player in the Silicon Valley innovation ecosystem, supporting founders eager to enter the US market.
Based on our experience, we know how to build a business. We mentored hundreds of startup teams throughout our acceleration programs, and we helped them build operations, sales, marketing, and important partnerships. Our program was carefully designed to contribute to startup success on US soil and help teams with faster product-market fit and scalable revenues.”

Applications are accepted until December 30, 2022 on the official website – https://vibranium.vc/softlanding

We are thrilled to introduce our new portfolio company – IVM Markets, a Saas investment content generation portal, which empowers financial distributors and resellers of structured products. The company and the people behind it are disrupting the financial industry by providing an alternative route to design, price and risk manage customized investments.

IVM is a London-based firm that partnered with venture capital funds Geekdom fund (as lead investors) and Vibranium.VC on a $4M round.

IVM is a technology firm that is supporting clients all over the world by leveraging expertise and big data analytics to transform the way structured products are designed and priced

“Investor demands are changing, and there is an increasing need for more customized investments. Structured products, especially the more bespoke ones, could be the ultimate vehicle for personalized investing,” says Vlad Gubski, IVM Markets co-founder.

“Technology is rapidly changing the world of customized investments and we are happy to be among those who spearhead the industry,” adds Ildar Farkhshatov, IVM Markets co-founder. “The challenge with designing custom solutions is both the idea generation and the pricing, but most importantly in determining – whether an issuer’s price for a bespoke solution is accurate or inflated. IVM’s product design suite provides an end-to-end solution that is built to be the ultimate structured product design workspace. It allows users to find the optimal product to match their client’s need and to price it in such a way that the issuer’s markup can be quantified. IVM is designed by structured product specialists for structured product specialists.”

There are already 21 clients across 7 countries who use the IVM product, and the results are impressive. Client feedback ranges from “You have really understood the journey of the wealth manager, from idea generation to making a sale and managing the client portfolio” to “We tested your pricing and, as expected, it proved to be useful.… it’s designed for precision.”

Capital raised in the funding round will go toward enabling further automation functionality within the product selection journey and expanding IVM’s operations, including establishing US-based headquarters in the near future.

Welcome aboard, IVM team!

Today, we’re excited to announce our investment in Otis AI, an all-in-one digital marketing assistant for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that helps clients launch data-driven campaigns across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Google in minutes. The startup is currently building a platform that serves businesses primarily in the US.

SMBs are essential to the global economy. They create jobs and they bring innovation to society. But how can they compete with more established businesses, especially when it comes to digital advertising?

US startup Otis AI knows the answer. The founders, Miguel Guerrero and Clarence Williams, designed an all-in-one digital marketing solution to help SMBs launch data-driven multi-channel campaigns across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Google in a matter of minutes. And if that wasn’t enough of a draw, Otis’s solution also enables its clients to overcome the challenges of mobile attribution and third-party cookies.

Vibranium.VC participated in this round alongside Unifier Ventures, Oak Drive Ventures, Studio VC, as well as some other VC funds and private investors. The company plans to use the money to drive product development, sales, marketing, and additional features to continue improving a robust platform that serves businesses throughout the US and worldwide markets.

Miguel Guerrero commented, “Our mission is to level the playing field for small businesses and allow them to compete with advertisers hundreds of times their size. Otis AI is the best simple end-to-end solution for SMBs.” And we believe him. The company grew 300% last year and cruised past $1.5M in annual revenue.

Miami Hack Week, a distributed hackathon, and many more are already among Otis’s clients, which see an average 10x return on ad spend. NY-based retailer Extra Butter is a particularly striking example, racking up an incredible 40x ROAS.

Otis’s mission is to level the playing field for SMBs by leveraging advertising across the web, social media platforms, and television to help them grow and engage with their customers. We look forward to seeing the company’s technologies helping SMBs grow and compete effectively, regardless of their size or ad budget. Welcome aboard, champions!