Semantic Ventures Research
Source Note
The firm's own site (semantic.vc) is a single Squarespace landing page. It carries one line of thesis, "investing in new rails for data & the digital economy", plus links to a portfolio list on X, a jobs board and a contact address ([email protected]). It has no team page, no portfolio page and no blog. Everything below beyond that line comes from third-party sources: the Due seed press release (Nov 2023), the firm's X account, investor databases (ConnectSafely, Tracxn, Superscout, NFX Signal, PitchBook snippets), SEC and Companies House filings, and the co-founders' LinkedIn and personal pages. Confidence is lower than for a firm that publishes its own portfolio and team.
Investment Thesis
Semantic is a London-based early-stage venture firm founded around 2017 to 2018. It backs founders building new rails for data and the digital economy. Its own boilerplate in the Due release lists open networks and computing platforms, scalability and security infrastructure, payments, gaming, data intelligence and analytics, fintech, creator tools and communication protocols, all built on emerging decentralised technologies. In practice the portfolio is crypto-native and web3-heavy: DeFi lending, staking, wallet and key infrastructure, onchain payments and node analytics. Co-founder Stefano Bernardi describes his own work as investing in dapps and crypto networks.
Stage Focus
Pre-seed through Series A, with the centre of gravity at seed. Third-party databases list Seed and Series A. The two disclosed lead rounds found (Due, Morpho Labs) were both seed rounds.
Check Size
NFX Signal lists Yannick Roux with an investment range of $100K to $5.0M and a sweet spot of $1.5M. ConnectSafely lists $100K to $500K. Superscout's $5M to $10M looks too high for a firm of this size and is not used. The stored range is $100K to $5M.
Lead Tendency
Mixed. Semantic co-led the $3.3M Due seed with Fabric Ventures, and appears as an early backer alongside Nascent in Morpho Labs' EUR 1.2M seed. It writes small first checks and follows on in later rounds.
Recent Activity
Semantic Ventures II LP is the current vehicle (SEC Form D filed May 2022, Yannick Roux as director of the general partner). PitchBook lists its latest investment as Sidekick on 5 February 2026. In November 2023 Semantic co-led Due's $3.3M seed (borderless non-custodial accounts and stablecoin payments). Fund size was not verified.
Portfolio Highlights
Companies named across ConnectSafely and Tracxn include Morpho (open lending network, later raised $175M co-led by Paradigm, a16z crypto and Ribbit in June 2026), Lido, StarkWare, Sorare, Messari, Rated Labs, Dfns, Union Labs, Sidekick, Fence, Texture, Cheq Payments and Due. The firm's X account also promoted Lido and Centrifuge integrations in 2021. Round dates and stages are only confirmed for Due and Morpho Labs, so no stage is stored for the others.
Team
- Yannick Roux, Co-Founder and General Partner: ex-Principal at EC1 Capital, Head of Corporate Development at Momondo Group, Investment Associate at Forward Internet Group, Analyst at Macquarie. Board or observer roles at Opendesk, Appear Here, BlikBook and others.
- Stefano Bernardi, Co-Founder: previously Executive Director of the firm and now in a reduced role. Also co-founder of Kickpay, ex-Stripe GTM, Atomico scout, and partner at Mission and Market and Unruly.
One directory (EntrepreneurPlus) names Alexander Shelkovnikov as a co-founder. No other source supports this, so he is not listed.
Decision Process
Small partnership with two founders. No public process, no stated warm-intro requirement. The firm's site gives only a general contact email. Founders reach the team through the contact address or personal networks.
Founder Preferences
Technical founders building open, protocol-based infrastructure where value is captured through open networks rather than intermediaries. Superscout describes the approach as thesis-driven, emphasising disintermediation.
Geographic Focus
UK, Europe and US. HQ is London. The portfolio is distributed, with founders in London, Paris and elsewhere.
Gaps
No official portfolio list is readable (it is a Twitter list), fund size is unverified, and portfolio stages and dates beyond Due and Morpho Labs are unconfirmed.