The life of any business, including startups, is typically divided into the following stages:
- initial product creation and development;
- sales growth and organizational scaling;
- maturing as a business and transition to steady growth.
The first stage has many names: the idea stage, the launch stage, the startup or seed stage. We are calling it the Seed Stage and divide the life of a startup into three phases: Seed Stage, Growth Stage, Maturity Stage.
During the Seed Stage, the main task of a startup is to find Product-Market Fit. The startup founders need to have the courage to innovate, take untraditional paths and offer the world what it can’t live without. This stage requires a lot of experimentation and creativity. Here, the startup is still working on the definition of the final product, service, or technology, fixes problems identified by first customers and strives for what is called the Product-Market Fit.
A startup requires much more than just a great idea – it needs time, discipline, dedication and capital. Startup funding is commonly divided in what is called Rounds. At the Seed Stage, startups attract investment in several rounds: Friends, Family or Fools (FFF), Angel, Pre-Seed Round, Seed Round.
In the past there were few fundraising options at the Seed Stage. Startups raised money from Friends, Family, or Fools or from Angel investors. However, recently many venture capitalists started investing in yet-to-be proven startups in what are called Pre-Seed and Seed Rounds, despite the higher risk of such investments and unproven business model.
Top Seed Stage Tech startups with Global Focus and R&D in Ukraine (2021)
| Company Name Website Eng Ukrainian R&D Location | Product Description | List of all investments | Changes since last update |
|---|---|---|---|
| a-Gnostics a-gnostics.com Kyiv | Implements an Industrial AI service focused on anomaly detection and equipment failure prediction. Ucluster review | – | |
| A.D.A.M. adamproject.org Odesa, Kyiv | A developer of an on-demand personalized implant manufacturing infrastructure with a full scope of related services, provided remotely or on-site. Ucluster review | WeFund Ventures, Seed round (Dec 2018) Various, Seed round, $469K (June 2021) | Raised Seed round in June 2021 |
| Ademrius ademrius.com Lviv | SaaS software for managing private clinics: online doctors’ appointments, electronic patient medical records. Ucluster Review | Various, Pre-Seed round, $190K (Feb 2020) USF, Pre-Seed, $25K (Jan 2021) Various, Seed round (July 2021) | Raised Seed round in July 2021 |
| Auther.ai auther.ai Ternopil | Plug-in facial authentication for point of sales, mobile apps, self-checkouts, kiosks, ATMs. | Various, Pre-Seed round, €36K (Jun 2019) | |
| Biobetter biobetter.io Kyiv | AI-powered virtual biohacking assistant. | USF Grant, Pre-Seed, $25K (Mar 2021) | |
| Camdog Inc. camdog.ai Kyiv | Cloud-based on-demand video security. Monitoring objects online. Access to cameras from any device. Cloud data storage platform. Ucluster Review | Various, Pre-Seed round (Sep 2020) Starta VC, Pre-Seed round, $120 (Jan 2021) | Graduated from Starta Ventures Accelerator Raised Pre-Seed round in January 2021 |
| Carbominer carbominer.com Kyiv | Developing new carbon dioxide direct air capture technology. | SMRK VC Fund, Seed round (Oct 2020) | |
| Chatbank.pro chatbank.pro Kyiv | Chatbots based on AI to automate payments, support services and banking operations in Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Viber, other. | – | |
| Chatmebot chatmebot.com Kyiv | Automating the HR process in your company. | – | |
| ChoiZY choizy.org Kyiv | Career guidance app with AI for teens. | USF, Pre-Seed round, $50K (Apr 2020) Various, Grant, $50K (May 2020) Various, Pre-Seed round (May 2020) Various, Pre-Seed round, $50K (Feb 2021) | Raised Pre-Seed round in February 2021 |
| Come Back Mobility comebackmobility.com Kyiv | Wireless devices, attached to crutches, to monitor a patient’s walking recovery progress. | Farmak, Frédéric Delfosse, Peter Chernyshov, Angels, Seed round, $1M (Jun 2021) | New in Ranking |
| Comin System comin.co Kyiv | Discover new revenue stream from affiliate marketing. Commerce content monetization platform visualizes affiliate links. | Various, Pre-Seed round, $50K (Mar 2020) | |
| Distancematrix.ai distancematrix.ai Kharkiv | Enable website or app to compute the distance and travel time between points on a map using reliable and accurate APIs. | – | |
| DRESSX dressx.com dressx.app Kyiv | Fashion store of digital-only collections from most well-known brands and 3D designers. | The Artemis Fund, Alpha Edison, Unlock Venture Partners, One Way Ventures, TLF Ventures, Startup Mavericks, Signal Peak Ventures, Seed round, $2M (Jul 2021) | New in Ranking |
| Elomia elomia.com Kharkiv | A virtual friend. | USF, CIG investment group, $34K | |
| Esper Bionics esperbionics.com Kyiv | Data-collective robotic prosthetic hands and software platform to improve control of all robotic prostheses. | SMRK VC Fund, Pre-Seed round (Aug 2020) USF, Grant, $50 (Oct 2020) | New in Ranking |
| Greenbin.app greenbin.app Lviv | An application that allows you to return a used bottle to the recycling chain. | Huge Thing accelerator, Poland Prize program, $55K | |
| Hirio hirio.co app.hirio.co Kyiv | Volume Hiring AI Automator enabling HR executives to reduce the repetitive work and decrease cost per hire by 54%. | Martin Tajur, Kair Käsper, Angels, Pre-Seed round, $400K (Jan 2021) | New in Ranking |
| Kolo.Track kolo.ai Ukraine | Seamless legal compliance for organic farmers and traders to enhance sustainable agriculture. | Lviv IT Arena, Hack the New World, $3K | |
| Legal Nodes legalnodes.com Ukraine | The all-in-one legal platform for global companies and freedom-seeking lawyers. | LIFT99co, Hype Ventures, Angels, Pre-Seed round, $300K (Aug 2021) | New in Ranking Raised Pre-Seed round in August 2021 |
| Native in You native.nu Kyiv | Experience languages with affordable on-demand live help. | – | |
| Nutroo.ai nutroo.ai Kharkiv | Personal meal coach. | – | |
| OnCharge oncharge.net Kyiv | Cloud service to control charging stations for electric vehicles. Ucluster Review | – | |
| PocketIP pocketip.com Kyiv | Manage intellectual property rights worldwide in online mode. Ucluster review | – | |
| Postello postello.ai Kyiv | Helps business to be present on social platforms without the cost of an SMM specialist and copywriter. Ucluster review | USF, Pre-Seed round, $35K | |
| Promin Aerospace prominaerospace.com Kyiv Dnipro | Develops the smallest orbital rocket in history. | QPDigital, Seed round, $500K (Apr 2021) Indiegogo, $357K (May 2020) | New in Ranking |
| Qudi qudi.space Odesa | Smart LED wearables. | – | |
| Recoshelf recoshelf.io Kyiv Estonia | Monitors shelves, product placement, consumer behaviour in retail stores. | Demium Startups, Pre-Seed round, €22.5K (Apr 2020) USF, Pre-Seed round, $25K (Nov 2020) Think Bigger Capital, Pre-Seed round, €100K (Feb 2021) | Raised Pre-Seed round in February 2021 |
| Reest reest.io Lviv | Mushroom farming robots. | HAX and SOSV, Convertible Note round | |
| Sensefarming sensefarming.com Kyiv | Remote sensing and GIS in agriculture. | – | |
| Suplery (prev. Supplio) suplery.com Kyiv | A platform that integrates suppliers and beauty salons into a single system. Ucluster review | Pre-Seed round, $25K | |
| Finanz AI thefinanz.com California | Financial reporting SaaS for start-ups that replaces chief financial officers. Ucluster review | – | |
| VR Inn vrinn.co Kyiv | Virtual reality training solutions for manufacturing. Ucluster review | Angels, Pre-Seed round, $180K USF, Pre-Seed round, $25K (Mar 2021) | Raised Pre-Seed round in March 2021 |
| Web Leads Master webleadsmaster.com Kyiv | Automate and simplify LinkedIn workflow. | – |
Want to know more about angel investors?
he Ukrainian Connection: Aly Owens, founder of Dill Seattle coworking space