RTP Global Research
Investment Thesis
RTP Global is a self-funded, early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2000 by Russian entrepreneur Leonid Boguslavsky. Unlike most VC funds, RTP Global raises little to no outside capital, instead recycling proceeds from prior wins (Datadog, Delivery Hero, Yandex, EPAM, RingCentral) to back new early-stage founders. This structure gives the firm unusually flexible, long-term-oriented capital and lets it stay invested in companies for extended periods without LP-driven fund-life pressure. The firm backs technical, ambitious founders across AI, fintech, SaaS/enterprise software, developer tools, cybersecurity, e-commerce, healthtech, proptech, insurtech, foodtech, and mobility, with an increasingly explicit AI/ML overlay across all of those verticals.
Stage Focus
RTP Global invests primarily at Seed and Series A, with selective participation in Series B and late-seed rounds. It has both led and co-led rounds (e.g., led Warmly's $6M Series A+ and Attention's $30M Series B; joined as a new investor in Qomodo's €13.5M Series A alongside LMDV Capital).
Check Size
Reported initial check sizes range from roughly $1M to $15M, with Fund III-era guidance of $2M-$7M for initial checks, varying by geography and stage. The firm also reserves capital for follow-on investment in breakout portfolio companies (Fund IV reportedly earmarks $340M of its $1B specifically for follow-on support).
Lead Tendency
RTP Global both leads and follows. Recent press shows the firm leading rounds directly (Warmly, Attention) as well as joining as a new investor without the lead role (Qomodo). Overall behavior is best characterized as "leads" given its frequent lead-investor role in the last two years of disclosed deals.
Recent Activity
RTP Global closed its fourth flagship fund, RTP IV, at $1 billion in March 2025 — its largest fund to date and roughly 54% larger than Fund III ($650M, closed 2020). RTP IV splits into ~$660M for new early-stage investments and ~$340M reserved for follow-on support of breakout portfolio companies. The firm made roughly 29 investments in 2025 and continued actively deploying into 2026, including a $30M Series B for Attention (AI revenue-operations platform) in June 2026 and continued support for Ahead Health (Swiss preventive healthtech) through mid-2026 market expansion into Germany and the Netherlands.
Portfolio Highlights
RTP Global has invested in roughly 219 companies since inception, with 14+ unicorns (some trackers report as many as 21), 9 IPOs, and 43 acquisitions. Notable portfolio companies include Datadog (Nasdaq-listed), Delivery Hero (IPO), Yandex (IPO), EPAM (IPO), RingCentral (IPO), Qonto, SumUp, Snapdeal, Groupon, Cred, DataRobot, Rebel Foods, CoachHub, Cuvva, Smarter Sorting, and Zenyum. More recent additions include Attention, Ahead Health, Qomodo, and Warmly.
Team
RTP Global operates as a globally distributed partnership of roughly 34 people, including 12 partners, 2 venture partners, and 10 principals, spread across offices in New York, London, Paris, Bangalore, Dubai, and Singapore. Key team members include:
- Leonid Boguslavsky — Founder
- Galina Chifina — Partner / CEO, based in Dubai
- Maria Krajukhina — Managing Partner, CFO and Investment Advisor
- Julius Schwerin — Partner, based in New York
- Gareth Jefferies — Partner
- Thomas Cuvelier — Partner (joined March 2025 from Alven), focused on fintech, SaaS, and engineering-first companies across the US and Europe
- Nishit Garg — Partner, India / Asia
- Jelmer De Jong — Partner, Europe (London)
- Andrea Funsten — Partner, San Francisco
- Madhur Makkar — Principal, Asia
Many team members are former founders, operators, engineers, and data scientists rather than career investors, which the firm cites as a differentiator in its ability to advise portfolio companies operationally.
Decision Process
RTP Global describes a "high-speed / low-drag" decision process. Its globally distributed partnership convenes weekly across the New York, Bangalore, London, and Paris offices to reach investment decisions, share local market knowledge, and discuss trends — a partnership-style process rather than a solo-GP or heavyweight investment-committee model.
Founder Preferences
The firm favors technical, ambitious founders building category-defining companies, with particular affinity for engineering-first teams in AI, fintech, and SaaS. Its self-funded structure is pitched to founders as a source of patient, long-duration capital and hands-on operational support from partners with founder/operator backgrounds.
Geographic Focus
RTP Global invests globally with dedicated regional teams, concentrated in North America (largest single market), Europe (UK, France, and broader Western Europe), India, and Southeast Asia. It has also selectively backed companies in the Middle East given its Dubai presence.