Verb Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Verb Ventures backs "action-takers modernising global trade." The firm's stated mission is to partner with ambitious entrepreneurs building the digital infrastructure that powers global B2B trade and supply chains. Verb targets fundamental inefficiencies in traditionally opaque B2B markets: limited transparency, procurement complexity, and fragmented supply chains. Beyond capital, the firm offers operational guidance and access to Verb MAP, an internally developed analytical system the team uses to evaluate digital-infrastructure and marketplace opportunities.
Sector Focus
Verb's portfolio is concentrated in B2B marketplaces and vertical software serving physical-world trade:
- Supply chain and logistics infrastructure (food manufacturing, maritime bunkering, construction equipment rental, African commerce infrastructure)
- Manufacturing and industrial marketplaces (low-volume manufacturing, auto salvage/parts)
- Vertical B2B services marketplaces (translation, CGI production, legal notarization, home services/heat pump installation)
- Selective exposure to fintech infrastructure and AI infrastructure through later-stage names (Kraken, Turing)
The common thread across the portfolio is digitizing and adding transparency to fragmented, broker-driven B2B markets.
Stage Focus
Verb Ventures invests from late seed through Series A, favoring companies with a proven product and early market traction that are ready to scale. The firm's portfolio page groups holdings into Early Stage, Growth Stage, and a small number of Late Stage positions (Turing, Sabi, Kraken), suggesting selective follow-on or opportunistic participation in later, larger rounds alongside its core early-stage thesis.
Check Size
Typical initial checks run €0.5–1.5 million, with reserves for follow-on participation up to €4 million per company. This is consistent with a small, concentrated fund that leads or co-leads early rounds and reserves capital to defend ownership.
Lead Tendency
Verb both leads and follows. It led Installio's £1.5M seed round outright (November 2025) and has also joined larger syndicates as a participant, such as ApFusion's $6M Series A (July 2025), led by I2BF Global Ventures alongside SNAK, Somersault, and Left Lane Capital. Public reporting also places Verb alongside Lux Capital, Bain Capital, FJ Labs, and Initialized in SkySelect's cap table.
Recent Activity
Verb Ventures closed a €25 million second fund in April 2025, targeting late-seed to Series A B2B marketplace and data-infrastructure companies, with a stated goal of building a portfolio of roughly 15 platforms over three years. The fund's LPs include family offices of digital entrepreneurs, industrial investors, and former executives from companies such as Yahoo Marketplace and Prisma AI. Since the fund's close, Verb has been active: leading Installio's seed round (November 2025), joining ApFusion's Series A (July 2025), and continuing to build out its venture partner and advisory bench through 2025 into 2026.
Portfolio Highlights
The portfolio spans 15 companies across the UK, continental Europe, and the US, including SkySelect (AI-powered aviation-parts procurement), Smartcat (translation marketplace), Laundryheap (on-demand laundry), Geomiq (low-volume manufacturing marketplace), Yardlink (construction equipment rental), Legitify (legal notarization), and Sabi (African supply chain commerce). Its later-stage/brand-name positions include Turing (AI infrastructure) and Kraken (crypto trading infrastructure).
Team
- Alexander Chikunov, Founder & General Partner — venture investor with a background in corporate finance and entrepreneurship; previously founded a crowd-investment platform and managed a marketplace-focused VC portfolio. Frequently the firm's public voice (WSJ interview on private aviation transparency, essays on trade infrastructure and sustainable AI).
- Igor Burlakov, General Partner — career spanning trading, capital markets, and venture capital; previously co-headed an equity desk and served as CBO at investment banks.
- Alexey Bulygin, Principal — started as a junior analyst at a crowdfunding platform; has worked at a family office and a marketplace-focused VC firm.
- Stefania Chaitidou, Investor — cross-sector background in fintech, corporate venture capital, and wellness initiatives.
- Abhilash Paul, Venture Partner (joined August 2025) — 15 years in structured credit and investment banking at Deutsche Bank and Citibank; financed a $12B Mexico City airport and structured $25B+ in EMEA equity deals; most recently Director at DAR Global.
- Petar Dimov, Venture Partner (joined August 2025) — background spanning engineering, AI research, and venture building; founded EuphoriaTech Group, a venture studio; focuses on ecosystem development in B2B and infrastructure tech.
- Katya Zotova and Dr. Angel Gavieiro joined the Advisory Board in late 2025, supporting strategy and scaling guidance for portfolio companies.
Decision Process
Not explicitly disclosed, but the multi-GP structure (Chikunov, Burlakov) plus a Principal and dedicated venture partners for sourcing suggests a partnership-style decision process rather than a solo-GP model.
Founder Preferences
Verb consistently backs founders tackling unglamorous, fragmented B2B markets with software and marketplace models — auto salvage, heat-pump installation, maritime bunkering, CGI production — rather than pure consumer or horizontal SaaS plays. The firm favors operators who can demonstrate early traction and a credible path to category leadership in a specific vertical.
Geographic Focus
Headquartered in Luxembourg (Verb Ventures S.à r.l., regulated by the CSSF as an AIFM) with a London presence and UK FCA registration through an appointed representative. The portfolio is concentrated in the UK and continental Europe, with a growing set of US positions (SkySelect, APFusion, Smartcat, Turing, Kraken) and one African/US company (Sabi).