I2BF Global Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
I2BF Global Ventures is a New York based, technology-focused venture firm founded in 2005. Its stated mission is to find companies in technologies and sectors that can produce a "Brighter Future". Over the last decade the firm has leaned into vertical software: products for overlooked, largely analog industries such as construction, trucking, healthcare administration, food supply chains, hospitality and agriculture. In its own essay "Vertical SaaS: Why We Like It" the firm argues for depth over breadth, tools that augment existing operators rather than disrupt them, and wallet expansion through payments, lending, insurance and embedded commerce. It names ServiceTitan, GoExpedi, Partly, Makini, Peek Travel and Inbox Health as examples from its own portfolio. Beyond vertical software the portfolio historically spans consumer hardware, fintech and crypto payments, space, fusion energy, biotech and materials.
Stage Focus
I2BF invests mainly at pre-seed, seed and Series A, and follows on in later rounds of winners (it appears again in the 2025 Series C of Nothing). Through the Pre-Seed to Succeed (P2S) program it also writes pre-seed checks alongside AltaIR Capital, Yellow Rocks and Smart Partnership Capital. That program launched in November 2023 with $50M and targets startups with an MVP and first traction in AI, B2B SaaS, fintech, future of work, productivity tools, digital health and HR tech, with the US as the primary market.
Check Size
Third-party databases put the historical average check near $0.9M with a maximum around $60M. The firm does not publish a check range. The range used here (about $250K to $3M for first checks) is an estimate from the P2S program rounds and seed rounds it joins, and is held at low confidence.
Lead Tendency
Mixed. The firm is described by some databases as mostly a follower, and in P2S rounds it appears as one of four program backers rather than a named lead. Waveup describes it as leading primarily at seed and Series A. Recorded as both.
Recent Activity
- June 2026: participated in KLIPY's $3.8M round (Google AI Futures Fund among investors).
- July 2026: backer in Klinic's $24M Series A.
- May 2026: participated in Wirestock's $23M Series A led by Nava Ventures.
- November 2025: P2S follow-on of $2.4M into Global Work AI.
- October 2025: P2S led Chatfuel's $1.5M seed.
- September 2025: existing investor in Nothing's $200M Series C at a $1.3B valuation.
- May 2025: P2S led LovOn's $850K pre-seed.
- Each month since September 2025 the firm publishes a roundup of US vertical SaaS funding deals on its blog, which doubles as sourcing signal.
Portfolio Highlights
The firm lists roughly 130 to 140 investments in public databases. Its own portfolio page is password protected, so the list below comes from aggregators and press and may be incomplete. Outcomes: ServiceTitan (IPO on Nasdaq, December 2024), fuboTV (public), Nothing, Airalo and MoonPay (each reported as a unicorn), Odeko, Roofr, GoExpedi, Shopmonkey, Peek, General Fusion, PostEra and Skycatch. About 19 portfolio companies have been acquired.
Team
- Alexander Korchevskiy, Managing Partner. Named as the contact for vertical software pitches.
- Ilya Golubovich, Founder and Managing Partner (partner since 2005 per Crunchbase).
- Denis Kalyshkin, investment team member who writes the data-driven sourcing and vertical SaaS deal roundups.
- Third-party sources describe a team of about 16 with six partners, one venture partner and three principals; only the three people above were verifiable from first-party pages.
Decision Process
Partnership. The firm describes a data-driven sourcing process: it clusters startups by co-founder background, tracks LinkedIn headcount growth, and uses Crunchbase, PitchBook, Similarweb, G2 and Glassdoor signals. A typical target is a US seed startup under two years old with 10 to 20 employees. It also says cold outreach to the shared inbox ([email protected]) or directly to Korchevskiy is welcome, so a warm intro is not required.
Founder Preferences
Founders who find opportunities in unglamorous, under-digitized industries and go deep on one customer profile. The firm weighs founder backgrounds heavily (prior exits, C-level roles, top companies or universities).
Geographic Focus
Global mandate with offices reported in New York, London, Los Angeles, Dubai and Astana. Current vertical SaaS and P2S activity is concentrated on US startups. Past portfolio includes the UK, Canada, Europe and Russia-founded teams.
Gaps
The homepage shows only a logo. The portfolio page requires a password. No fund size for the current fund, no first-party team page and no published check size were found. AUM figures vary by source ($400M on Crunchbase, $500M on LinkedIn); $400M is used.