New York-based FF Venture Capital has announced its $50 million Blue & Yellow Heritage Fund to invest in startups led by Ukrainian founders.
"It is not a charity. It's our way of contributing but also getting what we think will be a high return on capital," said John Frankel, founding partner at ffVC.
The fund, which the firm says is the first US-based vehicle to invest exclusively in Ukrainian founders and startups, has collected $30 million in commitments so far. Mariusz Adamski, partner at ffVC, said the firm is planning to invest in 20 startups, including relocated startups and those that employ Ukrainian refugees, with check sizes ranging from $500,000 to up to $2.5 million.
"We're looking for businesses that already have the product 95% developed, and are looking for a catalyst in order to sell the product," said Adamski.
Startups headquartered in Ukraine have attracted only a modest amount of VC funding, taking in more than $55 million across at least 60 deals since 2020, according to PitchBook data. However, standout software companies like GitLab and Grammarly were founded in Ukraine, and the nation is home to a robust tech sector.
ffVC has a well-established network in Ukraine. After opening an office in Warsaw in 2019, the firm launched its first Central and Eastern Europe-based fund focusing on tech and gaming startups. The firm now boasts a portfolio of 14 companies in the region, including synthetic speech startup Respeecher and Montonio, a developer of checkout software for ecommerce merchants.
"When the war started, some investors left because they were Russian, while some left because the risk went up. But that has created a funding opportunity for us to invest in great companies at fair valuations," said Frankel.
Related read: PitchBook Analyst Note: The Russia-Ukraine War's Impact on the European VC Ecosystem
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This article originally appeared on PitchBook News